Dirty Little Miscreants
by Zulazula
Summary: Steve Burnside has been one of the Ashfords servants for years now, but never gave up hope for one day living free on his own. When a certain girl is captured and forced to work with the slaves of the island, she gives him the extra push he needs to get out once and for all. A/U. Complete.
1. 1995

**A/N: Hello! I own nothing except for my OC's. Initial idea for Steve and Claire as servants is rubyhxnter in tumblr. Capcom owns Resident Evil. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _February 11th, 1995._

 _Dad came home today and said he got a new promotion. Mom didn't seem really happy, I don't know why...we really need the money. Dad seems excited enough, though we have to move. I don't really mind...I don't have many friends here anyways, or in any of the previous places we lived. But that's okay._

 _Dad got really drunk in celebration, and made mom even more upset._

 _Mom said she would home school me, which she never agreed to before, said 'I needed the social exposure'._

 _Yeah, sure, hang out with all the kids who treat me like crap and call me names._

 _But I guess I finally get what I wanted, perks to going to South A-freakin'-merica I suppose. I really hope there aren't any huge bugs there..._

 _Dad also said they had recently built a training facility, and that he'd take me shooting sometime. There's also a lot of planes...oh! That reminds me to pack my flight simulator..._

 _My birthday is soon too, one year closer to living free on my own. I can't wait, hopefully this place isn't too much of a drag..._

* * *

Hoisting his duffel bag over his shoulder, he took his mothers bag in his now free hand. The smell of rain hit him, making him grimace. They stepped away from the small landing strip near the shore, led to where the sand broke by the second pilot. He stopped when a man bowed to him, and then faced the group.

"Greetings, welcome to Rockfort Island. You will be meeting Lord Ashford and Lady Alexia before I take you to your home, they have prepared a meal for your arrival." He bowed again, only glancing over at them before leading the family and the others up a cobblestone path. Steve took notice of the patch across his eye, giving him an oddly rugged look despite his clothing.

Not another word was said, leaving the group to take in their surroundings. Past the steps and path, you could see lavish forest and even further out, the raging ocean and cliffs from the other end of the island. At the top of the staircase, a bridge came into view, presenting a second iron staircase.

"Follow me." the lanky man continued on, picking a few leaves from his white dress shirt.

"What's that?" Steve asked loudly, staring over the cliff edge at the watch towers and large wooden doors.

"That would be the prison." The guide replied, causing Steve, and his family, to flinch.

"Honey, you never said anything about a prison..." Maria whispered.

She clutching her purse to herself with wide eyes. Vince wrapped his arm around her shoulders momentarily to calm her. He was about to say something along the lines of 'neither did they' but knew it would only upset her. He decided to keep quiet rather than dig himself a hole, he could explain later. The guide pointed out the training facility to their right, closed off from view by a metal gate. A few employees gathered around front, smoking and laughing as they passed. The dirt turned into white marble, leading up to a wrought iron fence. On the other side, a beautiful building stood, all white with emblems crafted into the metope, complete with grand pillars and a fountain in the front. Small gardens of exotic flowers adorned the area's that weren't stone path.

Steve almost turned up the steps, until his father caught him by the collar and dragged him back to the group.

"Dad, don't do that!" he whined, blushing furiously as he fixed his green t-shirt.

Through the rows of pillars, they eventually were led to an area with a small pond, decorated with more ferns and flowers. A low building was just beyond it, the smell of food reaching his nose and making his mouth water. Upon entering the luxurious building, he was greeted by the sight of two blonds, opposite ends of the mass dining table, gazes cold and condescending.

"Welcome! Please, take a seat, it is so _wonderful_ to have you all here. I am Alfred Ashford, owner of this facility, and this is my sister, Alexia." He dragged out the last half of his sentence. He had risen from his seat in his greeting and stood in front of them, staring at his twin sister in a way that made Steve's skin crawl.

"Thank you for having us, Sir." Both Vincent Burnside and the two men from the plane nodded, taking their seats.

Steve was sat by one of them, the one who had introduced himself as Sindre, a pale, blonde with an accent he didn't recognize. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he took note of the scars that danced across his skin. He began gathering food for his plate along with the others, not recognizing a lot of the dishes laid out on the table.

 _'Are those...fish eggs? Ugh!'_

"Help yourselves...your work will start tomorrow. You will all be fetched from your cabins in the morning, this is the rest of the team who will be working with you on the private residence."

"Aye!" A chorus of mixed accents and greetings rose, all the men raising glasses to the newcomers in a toast.

Vincent, Sindre, and Parsons raised their own glasses, filled with Sangria, and repeated. "Aye."

The Ashford stood, seemingly patient, waiting for the annoying celebration to die down.

 _'So loud and uncouth, I regret bringing poor Alexia to this affair, but she insisted...'_ his thought process trailed off as the men took their seats.

"Now...what do you think of my island so far? Magnificent, isn't it?"

Alfred raised his arms, motioning to the area around him. Alexia glared at him from behind her tea cup, catching Steve's eye.

"It's incredible. I can't wait to see what you've done with the training facili-"

"Divert your gaze, you insect." the blond woman snapped, causing Steve to flinch.

"Burnside! Control your brat. And you, control your hormones. You are to respect her, I will _not_ stand for that behavior."

"Control my hormones? As if. I don't like blonds," he sneered "...I just found her glaring at you to be funny. You don't have to worry about me going after _that._ "

"Steven!" His mother hushed, heart beating fast as the man before them began to shake.

"How dare you! Who are you to speak about her like that, you, you _rat._ You-"

"Leave it brother, a mere child is not worth your words. Now sit down, before you make a fool of yourself." she wiped her mouth with her napkin daintily, but made no attempt to mask her annoyance.

"Burnside, leave my hall at once, and control that inept child of yours, or you'll be removed from the project." He lowered his voice, but was still shaking from the disrespect.

His parents gathered their things as quickly as they could, and left the dining area, the Hispanic man leading them out.

"Oh, how I _hate_ the indigent, and indigent children more. No respect, or manners..." Alfred continued to fume, much to Alexia's growing annoyance.

She loved her brother, yes, and she agreed with him. But the way he dealt with things was humiliating, and completely improper. They we're Ashford's, yet her inept twin handled things with pure emotion, like the 15 year old before them would have.

 _'I suppose it's up to me to uphold the name, otherwise be shamed. He certainly cannot be counted on.'  
_

* * *

"You got balls, kiddo." Jonathan gave him a high five, surprising the teen with the sudden informality.

"I-uh, thanks?"

"No, really. Everyone hates those two, but no one ever opposes them, that was pretty great."

"Hah, I can see why. They're so...stuck up."

"You don't say...so, your name is Steven?"

He nodded. "Nice to meet you. Do me a favor, don't try something like that again, they're no joke. I've seen what they've done to people who disrespect them. They wont go easy on you just because you're a kid, okay?" He handed his father a key, and pointed to the small cabin behind him.

In a small valley between two steep cliffs, was a row of cabins, the quarters for workers around the facility and the palace. They seemed new, the paint clean and upchipped, and sparsely furnished. There was only one room, which his parents took, leaving him to sleep on the couch. Besides that there was a small kitchen attached to the living room, and a small bathroom with a shower. His mom had already retired for the night, as she was jet lagged. The clock on the wall read 9 P.M. His dad was in the next room, so he quickly changed out of his clothes in favor of pajamas, only a few seconds to spare as his father reentered the room, retrieving his 4th can of beer from the fridge.

"Steven, they took a chance giving me this job, you know. You can't treat my boss like that, or his sister. I know you probably miss your friends and all but that isn't the way to handle it." Vince sat on the couch, running a hand through thinning red hair.

"I could care less about those people, I just couldn't stand their attitude, like they're better than us. How long do we have to deal with them?"

"You shouldn't have to, but not too long...and I'm certainly not taking you out there with me if you can't behave yourself."

Steve huffed, leaning back into the soft couch, _'Like I mind.'_

"...I don't know how long we will be here, Steven. We need this money badly. We lost the old house, so this is the only place we can go. I'm working to save money, if I'm honest, I don't like it here either."

"Maybe if you didn't drink away your paycheck..." Steve muttered, staring down his own nose at his red sleep pants.

"Excuse me? What the hell has you running your mouth like that? Why don't _you_ get a job and then you can talk like that to me."

"I wouldn't have to if you could manage your money." He snapped.

He could feel the tension in the air, and after the long silence, he began to regret his words. His father took one last swig of his beer, dropped it on the low coffee table, and left, leaving Steve to lament over his word choice. The guilt only lasted momentarily, when he remembered the multiple times they had been evicted due to their poverty, most attributed to his fathers drinking habit. He swore this time the money would get them out of the hole they were in, but he just didn't trust it. It had been this way for a few years now. It no longer bothered him, he was used to it. This way, he got to travel. He was in South America for fucks sake, he certainly couldn't complain. And this place had A/C. He found himself sinking into the couch further, thought process trailing off as the last light in the bedroom went out.

* * *

He woke the next morning, stiff and sore from the couch, to a loud knocking on the door. Before he could move to answer it, his father lumbered out of the room, tugging on his pants before answering it.

"Your shift will start in an hour, right down there," He pointed beyond the fence, where Steve had saw many jeeps and other vehicles and equipment. "...Someone will bring supplies to the house soon, like an alarm clock." The solider mocked, taking in the mans unkempt appearance.

Vincent simply nodded and shut the door, too tired to take notice of the mans attitude. He rubbed his eyes, grumbling to himself as he left the room to get ready. When he emerged from the room in his work clothing, Steve tried to find the words to apologize for his outburst the night before, but his father hadn't really looked at him. He said goodbye to both him and his mother before leaving the door.

"Don't mind him...you know he isn't a morning person."

"No kidding."

The day went on, dull and uneventful. He couldn't work the T.V., all the channels came in in Spanish, his mother insisted they could use the VHS player, but he wasn't ready to watch Titanic* forty times in a row, knowing her.

Around 9 P.M., his mother announced she would be taking a shower, and that dad would be home in about an hour. When he heard the shower start, he took the opportunity to throw on his shoes and head out the door. The air outside was heavy, humid from the rain that had fallen the night before, and threatened to fall at anytime. The lodging area was empty, though it didn't really matter. He lived here now, didn't he? He shouldn't be stopped for wandering around. But he was still careful, and half heartedly checked before turning corners. He remembered bits and pieces from the tour the night before, giving him landmarks to go by. He had no idea where he wanted to go, he just simply needed to run, stretch his legs, explore the island. Outside the lodging area there were a lot of closed off areas, jeeps, equipment, and facilities were divided up between these areas, and even some more cabins. He had stayed on the smaller paths, in an attempt to avoid any watchmen or employees, and came to an area beside a cliff face. He froze when he saw someone sitting beside the wall, hoping he didn't notice him. Before he could turn, the man grabbed his arm and pulled him back, shoving him into the brush behind where he sat.

"Hello." Steve heard the man through the flowers and bushes, through the leaves he could see a soldier give his assailant a dirty look before continuing over the bride to the left.

"You can come out now. What are you doing all the way out here, kiddo? You know if a solider catches you you could get in some shit."

Startled, the redhead had to stop himself from running off. He recognized the voice as Jonathan, the guide that had escorted them from the palace last night.

"Uhm...thank you. I appreciate it." Jonathan nodded, telling him it was no problem. "...I was bored. Is there anything to do out here?"

Jonathan shook his head, "Not for a kid who isn't employed. Even the official employees don't get much downtime aside from drinking and listening to radio."

"Hey, I'm not a kid. I'm 15." he defended.

"Still a kid to me, I'm 28." He kept his eyes on the boy, who took a seat next to him on the short wooden wall.

"So what do you mean, official employees? Can people work under the table here? I could definitely use some extra cash..."

"Well...not exactly. The Ashfords have a team of servants, but they're treated more like slaves, they don't get paid, or get proper lodging, etcetera." He explained.

"Oh...so those were the people who were serving the food last night?"

"That was a few of them, yes."

"That isn't cool of them, they really are assholes." He stated sincerely, surprising the older man. Most of the islands residents turned their noses up to those who worked in the palace area, even the soldiers would jeer at the lower class attendants when they came across them.

"Yeah, I agree. They don't treat us very well at all."

"Wait," Steve's mild expression twisted into a look of surprise "...you're a servant?"

He chuckled, "You couldn't tell?"

The teen looked him up and down, taking in his appearance fully for the first time. He looked gaunt, and his skin was ashen. Upon closer inspection he could see faint stains across the front of his dress shirt, and his face was covered with stubble.

"On second thought..." he added wryly, making Jonathan chuckle.

"So...how did you end up here?" Steve inquired, kicking his legs to keep himself occupied.

"Well, when the island was bought by Umbrella, they offered jobs to anyone who stayed behind. According to my parents the first generation actually had real work, but as they went on, they were eventually demoted to mere slaves, and each generation would work for the Ashford's that way, instead using workers from North America and Europe. Racist bunch, they are."

"Why don't you just leave?"

"Can't. If they catch you trying to escape you're either executed, dragged back, or worse."

"What's worse?"

"Well, I hear rumors about the medical hut out in the prison...my friend Robert was out near there once, said he saw one of my workmates being taken there after he ran out of boundaries. He was on watch in the guard tower near by and could hear screaming from the vicinity. Considering the twins nature, I can only imagine what went on in there...so escape doesn't seem like a realistic option."

"That's seriously fucked dude..."

He looked at the ground solemnly, still kicking and fidgeting. They sat in silence, only moving once the first drops of rain hit the dirt.

"You should head back to your cabin kid. I'm sure your mom is worried about you."

"Yeah, maybe. But it's dull in there, what the hell am I supposed to do for fun?"

"Not snoop around, I'm telling you, if you get caught, theres no telling what your punishment will be, and I wont be able to save your ass then. Head on home, I have to return to the palace."

"Hmph, fine, buzz kill," he jumped off of the ledge and began running back the way he came, as the rain became heavier "...I'll see ya around!" he called as he disappeared into the fog.

 _'Nice kid, he is. Sad that he has to be stuck here. I'll make an effort to go visit him more often...'_

* * *

Steve continued to jog until he was out of sight, sneakers pressing into the mud making sucking sounds.

 _'Moms gonna be pissed.'_ he thought as he slowed down, ducking behind a corner when he could hear the gruff voices of employees up ahead.

The sky was darkening now, the rain falling in sheets as he crept along the brick wall that he saw the soldiers disappear behind. He peered behind the side to see them loading boxes into a few jeeps. After loading, they exited the grounds, leaving the area empty. Just beyond that, he could see someone dash across the clearing, and hiding behind the vehicle. They were small, like a child, leading Steve to believe they had gotten lost playing.

 _'Eh, not my problem.'_ he shrugged before going on his way.

But the odd gasping noises under the roar of the rain made him freeze, and back up to his previous spot. Was they crying? Above the sobs, he could hear the sounds of the soldiers again, getting closer.

With a split second of inner turmoil, he decided to retrieve the child before it was caught. He took one last look around before jogging towards the truck, startling them into almost running away. He grabbed it's wrist as gently as he could manage, stiffing the noises with his palm as he pulled the boy close to him and hid behind the car. As the men approached, he could hear his own heart beating rapidly, legs itching to up and run, but for their sake, he fought the urge and stayed put. He could hear shuffling on the other side, which made the kid whimper slightly in fear. Steve pressed his palm harder against his mouth, staring up to see if they had heard, if they would look over the hood and find them. After a moment of silence, and a little speculation from the two, they left the area, heading to the dining hall, according to their conversation. He tried to check his watch, but found it difficult to see with the lack of light. He released the kid, who had relaxed in his arms finally. Taking a look at him, he seemed no older than 8 or 9. His face was filthy, the dirt washing away as he lifted his head to make eye contact with the older boy. He was dressed in the servants garb, like Jonathan, and his hair was a messy mop of dark curls, matted to his head by the heavy rain.

"What are you doing out here? You almost got yourself caught." Steve scolded, still trying to calm himself down from the scare.

"I w-was trying to get away...I don't wan-na be here anymore." He stammered, looking down at his bare feet sadly.

"It's too dangerous for that, where is your mom? I'll take you to her, you can't just leave." He spoke gently now, the quiver in the boys speech telling him he was ready to cry again.

"They hurt m-mommy, she told me to run, so I ran...she told me daddy would meet me by the horse-ies. I have to get to daddy before they find us! You can come with me, my daddy will help you too." He chirped, tugging on Steve's sleeve, whining 'come on, come on!'

 _'Fuck, this kid is gonna get us caught if he doesn't shut up-'_

"Shh!" He hushed and pulled the kid into the same position, this time he squirmed a little until Steve shook him as a warning.

"I thought I heard something...let's check the other side."

"One second."

He could hear someone stomping through the mud, coming closer and closer to the jeeps near the wall, where they hid. He heard the doors open, and slam shut. Eventually, they came to their jeep, the vehicle shaking with the force of the slam.

"Nothing here. Let's go." the gruff voice was muffled by the downpour, but the retreating steps told them they were safe to speak again.

The boy had begun to cry in Steve's grip, the tears mixing with the rain, the sight jabbing at Steve's heart. He looked away from his sullen face, leaning down on one knee in the mud silently. The child lost faith that the man would help him, and was about to turn and run when he spoke.

"Where are the horsies?"

"Huh?"

"Where are the horsies, I'll take you to your dad." he spoke stronger now, able to look at the kid now that his face had lit up with joy.

 _'What am I getting myself into...'_

"Come on! I'll show you." he practically shook with excitement.

He grabbed Steve's sleeve again, pulling him to his feet despite being being a foot shorter than him, The two ran low against the wall, to the opposite end with a break in the wall. They slipped through, pushed faster by the yells of soldiers looking for the runaway slave.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Decided to end it there, to drag out the beginning a little bit more. I know it's a little dull, but it will pick up. Please review if you like it! It really pushes me to write more, and write better, and constructive criticism is always welcome._**

 ** _*I know that Titanic wasn't out then, I was simply using it was a throwback to Steve's appearance in CV. Note that his appearance in this story is based of CVX, not DSC or CV._**

 ** _Thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Until next time._**

 ** _Unedited 5/31/15._**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I own nothing but my OC's and ideas. Everything else belongs to Capcom.  
**

* * *

 _CRASH-_

 _"Oh goddammit."_

 _"I'm sorry...I didn't mean it..." Mario sniffled, backing away from the glass in fear._

 _"Look what you fucking did! Pinche idiota!" The man cursed, kicking the broken glass, noticing the small ruby among the vase._

 _"Don't talk to him like that! He is only a child, he didn't mean it."  
_

 _"I do not care! Your child's idiocy is going to get us into deep shit! Look at the mess he made, they will notice if this is broken Emilia."_

 _She knelt down, wrapping an arm protectively around her son as the man kicked the broken vase, smashing it further._

 _"Don't do that, maybe we can fix it." She barked, releasing her child and crawling over to the smashed Earthenware vase._

 _"Even the stand is cracked from the fall. I wont take the fall for your brat, they're going to really fuck 'im up. Let's leave him here..." His voice went smooth, and he reached for her exposed arm, only to have her jerk away._

 _"You need to stop that. You know I am married."_

 _"You're bound by your son...even you said that...if he is gone, then we-"_

 _"I'm uninterested! As if I would sacrifice my son for_ you. _Pendejo. I wont even be here after tonight..." She hissed._

 _"Puta."_

 _She froze, not from his comment, but from the sound of approaching footsteps outside, clearly Alexia by the sound of heels on linoleum._

 _"No...why would she come to the gallery at this time of night?"_

* * *

Steve had to stop the boy from running away without him, and pull him close. They hid behind walls, and cars, alert.

"What is your name?" The boy asked as Steve looked over the side of a crate.

"My name is Steve, what is yours?"

"I'm Mario."

"Well Mario, tell me where to go next." He tried to push down his fear and impatience.

He mulled the question over for a moment, then pointed for the tree line. "That way."

"Wait!" Steve whispered harshly, reaching for the running child.

They were already in the open, so he grabbed Mario's hand and ran faster, heart thumping wildly in his chest, ducking behind the bushes as three men walked across the field they had crossed. They surveyed the clearing before continuing on through the other side. He let out a few ragged breaths, body tense with adrenaline.

"Don't run off like that again, you could have gotten us caught." He snapped at the child, immediately regretting it when he turned his sad eyes to him.

"sorry mister Steve...we aren't that far. Mommy would always take me out here to play when she could, she said we were safe there. We're gonna be safe too! You can come with me mister Steve." He grinned, jumping around in the underbrush.

He felt torn, the kid seemed to like him, but he had his family here. He couldn't just up and leave, he had no reason to. Besides, his dad would be there, right? He just had to get him there safely. They began making their way into the trees, sweating from the humidity that plagued the air. Mario seemed to be running on auto-pilot, he had gone silent and continued forward without looking back or saying a word, something Steve could already tell was _way_ out of character. They started going down hill, and Steve had to grab hold onto tree's and branches to keep from tumbling down the slope, the forestation becoming much denser, then opening to a very small clearing. A little garden house sat to his left, and three statues stood in the middle, two small horses, and a stallion, chipped, mossy, and cracked in some places. With the fog in the air, it looked quite creepy to him, not somewhere he would take a kid to play, but his mother probably didn't have many options. Mario ran up to the smallest statue and mounted himself, legs swinging while he looked around.

 _'Maybe he's in the garden house?'_ He walked up to it, wiping away dust from the glass, but saw nothing inside but trash.

"Daddy-yyyyy" Mario called, a little too loud, earning a 'shhh' from Steve.

"Mario, if he isn't here, we won't be able to wait for him, they will come looking for you." He said, regretfully.

"No they wont, this place is hidden, momma said so."

What the hell was he supposed to do? He couldn't just leave the kid out here. But where would he take him? He didn't know any exits, the kid couldn't go alone anyways. They couldn't house them...could they? Nah...Dad wouldn't keep his mouth shut, he'd get drunk and spill it...

 _'But I may have no choice...'_

"Let me go!"

"Father?" Mario jumped at the sound of the voice in the distance.

"No, you can't go out there, you'll get us caught!" But Mario was already running in the tree's, giving him no choice but to follow and hopefully stop him.

 _'Stupid, stupid, stupid!'_

It wasn't hard to catch up to the boy, thanks to 3 years of track, he tackled him to the ground, but it was too late. They had come right up on two men, holding an older Hispanic man at gunpoint, while he sat crying on his knee's. He tried to push himself up and run back, but Mario broke from his grip.

"Daddy!"

 _BANG-_

 _BANG-_

* * *

 _"You all are worthless, to fail at such a simple task? That vase has been in my family since the first generation, and you, some filthy, inept peasant destroyed it without a care. Nothing to say? Well, I will make you care."  
_

 _Alexia was livid, Alfred could feel it, something had gone wrong. She didn't have to call for him to come to her, two soldiers following suit. While she waited, she took her own time with the dirty woman, kneeling on the floor before her, She had let the man go, and the son of the bitch had simply stayed, besides, why not let the child see his mother be disciplined? Maybe he could learn a thing or two about respect for those far above him._

 _She placed a heel on her shoulder, and pushed, she fell easily under her. The woman was gaunt, weak, and old. When she had been growing up, she had been rebellious, and stubborn, but was easily broken by the time she was 18, after spending some disciplinary time with some of the servicemen. She laughed at the thought, landing another kick to her ribs. Not long after, Alfred burst into the Gallery, instantly turning sour at the sight of the broken vase, that had belonged to the great Veronica Ashford.  
_

 _"Emilia! You have no more chances. You have tried to escape, you have stolen for us, and now you have broken one of the most valuable items in this palace? I am through with rats like you, Thomas, Robert." He nodded to them, and they seized her._

 _Mario froze in the corner as they handled his mother roughly, who cursed and screamed in Spanish._

 _They stared at her, in an odd way, something other than anger. When the twins nodded, the men began tearing at her clothing, keeping a knife at her throat to keep her from thrashing the way she had been._

 _"Lowly scum, that's how you were born, and that is how you will die. You are unworthy to be in the presence of an Ashford, let alone work for them." Alfred sneered, while Alexia smiled, the corners of her lips turning up ever so slightly._

 _His mother refused to cry, clenching her jaw and fought at best she could. When the top of her dress came off, she noticed her son still standing there, staring with wide, frightened eyes._

 _"Mario! Run, go to the horsies! Daddy will wait for you there, mommy will be with you soon!"_

 _That was a lie, she knew it was. She was going to die in this room, in the same place she had always been stuck. But he wouldn't leave otherwise. He wouldn't watch this, he and his father would leave here like they had planned, she just wouldn't be there. Nicolas would take care of him, she was sure. Despite their differences he always cared for them both. He would get her son out of there._

 _They would be happy._

 _He hesitated still, causing her to snap at him._

 _"Avanza!"_

 _He jerked, took a look at the other adults, and ran. He didn't look back, he didn't look to see if anyone had followed him, only mentally mapped his way to the little garden mom would always take him too when she could sneak away unnoticed._

 _He wouldn't see his mother be beaten, be violated._

 _He wouldn't hear the gunshot, or the laughing._

 _He would never hear his mothers sweet voice again, his only solace in his 9 years of servantry under two sadistic aristocrats._

 _He would never be able to forget what he saw._

 _He would never be free._

* * *

He sat there, stunned. From the angle, he could see the blood splattered across the child's body, his stunned face as his fathers body fell limp to the ground, gore spilling out across the grass. He didn't move until the men grabbed him, he then began screaming, _no, no, no,_ over and over.

"Mario! Let him go!" Steve jumped forward, but was hit a blunt force that knocked him to the ground.

As he slumped, he looked up to see the blunt end of a rifle being pulled away, the face of Alfred Ashford coming into view. He was sneering, laughing at the crumpled form before him.

"Why did you hurt my daddy!" Mario was screaming, thrashing in their grip.

"Your father was a thief, and he was trying to run away, much like you were." He stared into his face while he spoke.

"Shall we take them back to the palace?" Thomas asked, growing annoyed with the wriggling thing in his arms.

"Fine. Keep the older one quiet, we don't want his father catching wind of where his son is."

"Wait, what are you going to do with me-"

 _CRACK-_

* * *

 _'What a fucked up dream...I already hate sleeping on this couch, I'm so stiff...'_

He didn't want to move, but there was some nagging in the back of his head telling him to open his eyes. He cracked one open, then jumped up when faced with unfamiliar surroundings. He scrambled to his feet, and stared around the small room. There were some empty bunks near the back of the room, an old lamp in the corner, and a sleeping form beside him.

 _'Mario.'_

He shook the kid, startling him as well. He took a look at his surroundings, and sighed softly.

"We didn't get away..." he said sadly.

"I guess not...where are we?"

"This is one of the servants rooms. Everyone should be up soon, the clock is almost at the halfway part." He pointed at the wall clock, which read 5:50.

Mario checked a crate at the foot of the bunk beds, and pulled out some clothing.

"There's some in here for you, too."

"Hell no, I'm no servant. Fuck these guys, I'm getting out of here."

He rose, turning away from the kid, who had started changing. He fixed his own clothing and headed out the door. He stomped across the creaky floor boards, not listening to the child who called after him, following him. He threw open the front door, and came face to face with a blond man.

"Where are you going, Burnside?" He lifted a pistol to the teens face, forcing him back into the cabin.

"I don't belong here. I'm going back to my parents, let me though."

But the Ashford didn't lower his weapon, only smirked.

"You broke the rules, Steven. You tried to help one of my servants escape, so you're going to work for me now, to replace his father. I can't be short of helpers. I already have a story for your parents, you need not worry."

"But-!"

 _Click-_

He froze, Alfred cocked the pistol.

"There is a uniform in the chest in your sleeping quarters. Everyone will show you your work for the day. It'll be amusing, to see you in a little butler outfit, wont it? I wonder how well you can cook." He giggled, an annoying, high pitched, giggle.

Steve noticed everyone in the room cringe, and Alfred closed the door, leaving him to ponder what had just happened.

Mario tugged on his pant leg, and someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Welcome to the gang, kiddo. You're going to have to get used to it."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! Please review!**

 **Until next time**

 **Unedited 6/2/15**


	3. 1998

**A/N: Thanks for those who have Favorited this story so far, anothervalenfieldfan and frozenheart7, thanks so much for your reviews! They mean a lot, and we shall see Claire soon ~ I own nothing but my OC's and Ideas.**

* * *

He felt all the life drain away from him throughout the day. Jonathan tried his best to console the kid, but he knew there was no real way he could get him out of this situation, or he'd end up like Manuel, and he couldn't risk that, not with Milena on the edge of loosing herself. He cared for the kid, felt sorry for him, but he wasn't ready to risk all that.

Steve had fought the uniform like a child, and in the end, looked like a boy who played dress up in his father's clothing. The white dress shirt fit loosely on his thin frame, and the pants hung a little low on the hips, passed his heels. He had to smile at the kid for that visual he would never forget. He had tripped during the first few hours of his work, he and Mario were mopping and dusting in various rooms of the palace, and when they had reached the bathroom, Steve had fallen over the extra length of pants. The mop handle hit the glass of the mirror first, his shoulder shortly after. The noise alerted the secretary, who promptly entered, and knocked Steve down into the fallen glass with surprising force, the slivers digging into his hands and forearms.

Mario chased after the older boy with a clean rag, but Steve brushed him off.

"Stop it!" He snapped after the child wouldn't let up.

He felt guilty when tears sprung to his eyes, but he couldn't help but be in the most foul mood of his life. Every time he tried to leave the palace, he was stopped and shoved back where ever he came. He never saw his father, or Alfred, so it made him feel even more stuck. No help, no explanation. Were his parents even looking for him?

Yeah, yeah they must be. And someone will tell them where he is, or that he saw them, and he would be out of here.

He swept up the remaining dust and glass and had Mario put it into the can, and they exited the room.

And came face to face with Alfred again.

"Well look at you, have you fucked up so soon?"

"Why are you keeping me here?" His voice strained with pent up emotion.

"Let me tell you a little secret, Burnside. The families here for their new 'promotion' won't be leaving. To keep the story short, you seemed to be the most useful to take the place of my most recent losses, so why not make use of you? I think you'll learn to behave in time, maybe come to like serving your superiors." He giggled, and turned his back on the fuming teenager.

"And what makes you think that? What makes you think I wont leave?"

"Look at your fellow peasants, they came to accept it, and they know they can't leave. You could learn a thing or two from them, on respect, and eventually loyalty to your _colony."_

 _'Colony? What a fuckin' loon.'  
_

He searched for the words, but nothing came out, he simply seethed as the Ashford ascended the steps, and joined his twin sister on the hallway, leaning over the railing to take a look at him. They were certainly amused with the look on his face.

 _'His spirit will break soon, brother, you need not worry.'_

They began laughing, matching in pitch, and in eerie quality, as Mario tugged Steve along to finish their rounds.

* * *

Milena waited until he pulled up the sleeves of his button up, and began rubbing the crushed herbs into the cuts that danced across his arms, a little more serious than he had thought. They burned, and stung like fury, but the pain passed, and he thanked the petite woman. There was nothing she could do with the series of bruises that littered his torso, but they were quickly removed from her sight as he pulled his shirt closed, seemingly embarrassed.

"So...is this how they always are?" he asked.

The group laughed, what Jonathan referred to as the family.

 _'We're a family, and we always look out for each other, take the fall for each other. That can be our downfall sometimes.'_

"Always, they're even more sadistic than their parents. We are attacked for even the most simple of mistakes." Yolana spoke feebly from her broke, the elderly woman unable to sleep yet. She had already developed an attachment for the redheaded child, in a matter of a day. The poor things family was right outside the walls, yet he could not reach them.

 _'At least my family is with me...'_

Jonathan tapped the patch covering his right eye, "This was from an incident where some bleach got on one of Alexia's porcelain dolls."

"Which was _my_ fault." Milena grumbled sadly, and he hushed her.

 _She cowered in the hallway, she could hear the male Ashford cursing, and ranting through the red walls, and peered into the room via the window. She had been cleaning the dolls dresses and had gotten a nasty bleach stain across what must have been Alexia's favorite, for Alfred to throw a fit like this. She hadn't intended for Jonathan to take the blame, she certainly didn't intend for the duo to find her mistake in the first place..._

 _But he hadn't told her, simply acted. Before she could protest, she was pushed from the room, and left out on the other side._

 _Alfred raised something from a pocket within that ridiculous red jacket he wore a lot of the time, a penknife. Her brother backed away, frightened, but he hadn't expected what came next. He assumed he would be jabbed in the arm, maybe loose a finger, not his sight._

 _She had to tear her eyes away from the sight of the blade plunging into his eye socket, which she didn't know how great of a decision that had been. She had not witnessed the actual eyeball being removed from his body, and being stepped on as it fell to the floor. But her brothers screams of pain mingled with all the other painful memories, her own beatings, the tortures of her family._

 _The duo would never let up, no one could escape. They were doomed to live this way, constantly coming to bed with new scars until they eventually died or were killed, the curse passed on to the next generation of children, which were born of beauty and of rape._

 _It was a wonder more hadn't taken their lives yet. Maybe because they all had a sliver of dignity, pride in them, which was foolish in her mind. They were destroyed, mentally and physically, caged up and held like rats, just like the Twins always said, always called them._

 _As Alfred kicked her wounded brother out on his behind, she heard the jesting of the man in red, and she knew his words to be true._

 _This was their Hell._

 _And they would never escape._

He sighed sadly. He had to be able to do something to get someones attention and get out of here. Sure, none of these people made it, but as far as he knew, they didn't have anyone on the outside to help them. If he could find out where the construction was taking place he could find his dad easily.

That, unfortunately, would never come to happen.

* * *

December, 1998.

The fresh sea air brushed across her pale skin, pushing the rose-tinted strands of hair away from her cheeks. Her black jacket flapped around in the wind as she stood near the pier. She had come to South America looking for Chris, who had disappeared on a mission a few weeks beforehand, turns out, he simply had no means of communication where he was. They planned on regrouping at this very spot, one they knew well from the visits they had with their parents as young children, before they had passed away. She adjusted her white top, and took another look at her watch. He was late. That was like him though, so she didn't call to pester him again. He would show up.

20 minutes passed, and a few of the merchants had finally given up on getting her attention. She couldn't really understand them anyways. It's not like she had much money either, what she had left was for her plane ticket home. She stared off absently as a helicopter flew low overhead, landing somewhere not far away.

 _'I think I can spare some time and money for a drink, maybe something from that cute little cafe that I passed.'_

She quickly mapped out a route, and decided a side street would get her there the quickest. She had time, but not that much. She could already taste the Frapp, mouth watering slightly. She passed through a small alley way, and hit an empty side street. Well, mostly empty. A few prostitutes stood lined up near a bench. They certainly didn't look thrilled to see her, so she kept moving, only bump into a broad chest of black.

"Sorr- I mean, lo siento." she frantically picked the phrase from her mind, backing away from the hulking figure.

He just smirked. He had a friend, not nearly as buff, but equal in height. He seemed to smirk as well. They made her extremely uneasy. She made a mental note of where she kept her pocket knife sheathed, and tried to go around him, only to come in contact with his arm.

She became more angry than fearful, her famous temper flaring. This guy was certainly in for it, he may be twice her size, but she wasn't some helpless doll. She landed an elbow in his side, causing him to lower the outstretched arm and curl down ever so slightly. She took the opportunity to place another hit at the back of his head, and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She barley heard the cursing over her heartbeat, and the sound of her boots hitting the cobblestone beneath them. It was definitely a bad idea to pick a side street, and she mentally kicked herself for that one. She could hear them chasing her, for whatever reason they wanted her. All she had was her bag, filled with clothing and toiletries, nothing these guys could want. Another motive popped into her head, but she quickly pushed that thought out of her mind.

 _'Focus Redfield, you're almost there. Even if they catch you, you can protect yourself.'_

"Gotcha, you bitch!" The larger one growled, taking her down to the ground.

Her chest was being crushed between his weight and the stone, her jaw was probably going to bruise, and her arms were pinned in a position where getting that knife wasn't really possible.

"Get the fuck off of me! You want my damn money? You can have it, just get your ugly ass off of me!" She thrashed under the weight, only increasing the discomfort on her torso.

"I'll gladly take your money, since you offered, but that's not why we got ya." he whispered to her.

His breath was rancid, and she fought the urge to gag, even as he lifted her, hands holding her wrists tightly, she continued to fight and curse.

"Well, I think I've decided I prefer 'em fiesty."

The smaller one approached her from behind. She could feel the cool metal barrel of a handgun pressing through her white tank top, causing her to still. They began walking her back towards where they had landed to get their supplies. He hid the gun under her jacket, in case anyone took a look at them. She must have noticed their intention, as she began to resist again, ever so slightly.

"Scream and we shoot you. We're soldiers, no one would think twice of it." He sneered, and she stilled again, allowing them to tie her wrists with a zip-tie.

They had a point. Even if they flew her somewhere, at least she would be alive. She could get away easily. Even if they hurt her, she would be alive.

She hoped.

She was shoved face first into the helicopter, her bum going straight up in the air. This earned some perverted comments that were put to rest when she promptly flipped herself over, and crawled into a corner. Could she get them now? Or when they took off?

No, killing them in flight is suicide, stupid Claire.

If she got away now, would anyone believe her?

The blades of the helicopter began whirring, and she made her decision. The bigger one had sat himself next to her, leering at her, and trying to snake an arm around her, as she wriggled away, shooting her best death stare.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Back to base, we wanna share a prize like you."

"A prize like me? Hah. As if I'd _ever_ sleep with disgusting scum like you."

"Feisty, aren't you." he spoke low, lustful.

"Shove it up your ass." she spat, earning a slap that left a mark across her otherwise unmarred face.

"Keep it up and you'll only make it worse for yourself." the pilot spoke, laughing.

So she shut up, and the man made no more moves on her on the chopper. She struggled to reach the knife in her pocket, but he didn't remove his eyes from her, despite what she did. She took a look at her clothing. Her jeans had torn even more at the knee from her fall, and her top was filthy. Other than that she was mostly unharmed, and she had gained all her strength back. Wherever they were taking her, it wasn't far from Pocitos. They were landing within a half hour, by her estimation. They picked her up and threw her out of the helicopter, then pulled her to their feet after they got out themselves. She looked around to see the Ocean, marred by jagged rocks and peaks. When she looked inland, she saw a huge, and intimidating, staircase that led up the side of a steep hill, leading to the middle of the island in a series of cliffs and peaks.

"Go." He shoved her forward with the barrel of the gun again, and she went.

She already began mapping her route, the beach had a few helicopters that weren't in use, and a boat docked further down the shoreline. Sure, she had no real idea how to operate either, but it was worth a shot, right? She almost laughed to herself, but caught it. She kept her eyes forward, pacing herself so she wouldn't get tired out by the hike. The tree's on either side of her thinned out and a large flat area lay out before them. It was paved, and trucks and various buildings littered the area. She could see what looked like a Prison ahead of her, but they veered left, taking her to one of the small cabins.

"Ay! Look what we got!" The man boomed as he entered the shack, pushing her along.

When she got a look at the inside, she felt her confidence bloom. With the two who had brought her, the total of men in the room only came to four, and she noticed the door wasn't locked behind them.

 _'Okay...'_ she appeared calm as she assessed her situation _'...I really only have to dodge the guy by the door, and he doesn't seem too tough...they're busy talking, so maybe I can get my knife...'  
_

The doorman was looking at the other three, speaking and laughing, making lewd comments about her. She kept her composure as she struggled against the zip-tie, and reached into her jeans back pocket, pulling the blade out while remaining as still as possible. She realized her time was running out when they started shifting towards her, and she flipped it open, and sawed off her restraints. She almost began to panic, as she was closed in on. Her eyes shifted back and fourth, and decided she needed to get out into the open, she would have more room if it came to fighting her way out of there. One had moved quite a bit faster than the others, a tall man who had a scar across his cheek and greasy raven hair, he reached out a hand, attempting to grab her bosom. She waited until he came close, and quickly brought the knife from behind her and shoved the blade into his palm. He cried out, and stumbled back, holding it to stop the flowing blood. He thankfully flailed into the other two, keeping them at bay long enough for her to land a kick on the blond doorman, the one who had originally brought her here. He easily shrank away when she attempted to hack at his face, and when he fell on his rear end, she left the shack.

Her legs pumped hard as she dashed across the open ground, not bothering to look back, or too see if any other soldiers were lurking about. She b-lined for the tree's, hoping to lose any pursuers in the underbrush. She almost tripped on roots upon entering the greenery, and thorns tugged at her cloths, but she didn't slow, or stop until she no longer heard shouting. She placed her hands on her knees, leaning over to catch her breath.

 _'Okay, so I got away. What now? I can't exactly go the way I came...'_

She looked ahead, into the dark, foggy forest around her. She had caught a glimpse of the island from the helicopter. It didn't seem _too_ big. Maybe if she made it to the opposite shore there would be more boats or something. She started to head in that direction when the bushes behind her rustled. She froze, and ducked behind a tree, the knife ready.

They had stopped in the clearing she was in, she could tell how close they were, right behind her, practically. She didn't want to hurt anyone unnecessarily, but she wasn't going to be bypassed, they would find her, if they didn't already know where she was. If she had the opportunity, she had to take it, to have the upper hand. She braced herself, and with a loud war-cry, spun around the tree and lashed out with the blade, only to stop herself midway. Her breath caught in her throat as she quickly pulled the weapon back, blue eyes wide with surprise, and regret. Below her, a child, who had fallen when she had attacked, but was thankfully unharmed. His expression mirrored hers, but quickly donned a childish grin.

"You scared me." He giggled.

 _'I...what...'_

"Wh-what are you doing out here? I could have hurt you...I'm sorry about that." She knelt down, to look the boy in the eye.

"I saw you running from the bad guys. So I followed you, I have somewhere you can hide, so come with me." He turned serious, and tugged on her arm.

"What's your name?" She asked, following behind him.

She hid the bloodied knife, hopefully from his view. She couldn't be sure if they had put the kid up to it or not, as innocent as he seemed, she wouldn't put her guard down.

"I'm Mario, what's your name?"

"Claire." She smiled.

"That's a pretty name." He commented honestly, not letting go of her sleeve as he led her up hill.

She thanked the boy, smiling. He was adorable. Sherry would love him. She started to get tired towards the top of the hill, she had yet to sleep and was still on edge. They came to flat land again, and the boy ducked behind a jeep, peering over the side.

"Okay, lets go quickly. I'm not supposed to be out here." He whispered and took off across the grounds.

She followed, and they eventually were met with more shacks, far more disheveled and small than the ones she had seen before. He threw the door open and pulled her inside, slamming it closed behind her. The room was lit by candles, and dim sunlight. In the middle of the room, her eyes landed on a boy, around her age, tending to a fire. He was dressed up, exactly like Mario, but with a blue vest over his dress shirt, like a waiter of some sort. He looked up, meeting her eyes.

She couldn't read his expression, he seemed to be staring, but not like the other men had. She couldn't tell if he was annoyed, or surprised. He looked towards the child.

"Mario, what the hell did you do?"

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! I appreciate the feedback I've been getting, like I've said, a review will push me to write almost immediately. They're very encouraging and you are all so kind ^.^  
**

 **So thanks again to anothervalenfeildfan and frozenheart 7!**

 **Until next time!**

 **Unedited 4/6/15**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I own nothing but OC's and Ideas. Resident Evil belongs to Capcom! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"I- well she was running away from the bad guys, so I figured she must be good, right?" Mario explained, unnerved by Steve's language.

He took in the girls appearance, she was filthy, and her white shirt was stained in blood, and a knife was clutched tightly in her hand. She stared at him, obviously trying to figure out if he was a threat or not. Before Steve could say anything, they heard a knocking at the door, which made everyone jump.

"Alfred!" Mario hissed, quietly enough that the man on the other side wouldn't hear.

"Tell him I'm at the trash yard, if he asks."

The redhead rushed towards her, she almost raised her weapon but he took her hand surprisingly gently, and ran towards the back of the cabin with her. He shoved her into the room, one with beds and a few chests, and locked it behind them.

"Hey, what the hell!" She cursed, and he threw his hand over her mouth.

She easily removed him from her, glaring at him.

"What was _that_ for." She growled, quieter this time.

She kept a defensive stance, watching the boy who stood lazily. She couldn't help but be paranoid, but taking in his thin appearance he shouldn't be hard to over power and get out. He grinned at her.

"Relax, beautiful. You're safe here, as long as your quiet."

She took that completely out of context, almost swiping at him, but he grabbed her assaulting arm and pulled it down, taking her down to the ground behind the door. He covered her mouth again, and she finally understood when the door opened beside them.

"This place is filthy. You, woman, dinner is to be served soon, why are you dawdling?" A voice boomed from right next to them.

She froze in the boys arms, staying rigid until the door closed again, and he released her. She scrambled away from him, and got to her feet. She closed the knife and replaced it into her pocket.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize..."

"Don't worry about it," He sounded annoyed for a moment, but donned that boyish smile again "...My names Steve, I uh...I work here, I'm guessing you aren't an employee?"

"No, my names Claire Redfield, I was just...dragged here by some soldiers. Do you happen to know a way off of this island?"

"You didn't come willingly? They usually pay any street walkers they gra-"

"Excuse me, I am _not_ some street walker. They just grabbed me off the street, you prick." she snarled.

"Sorry!" He raised his hands in exaggeration, "look the only way I know to get out of here is a plane or something. I know theres some around the palace but good luck getting to one. This place is on pretty strict lock down. I'm surprised you got as far as you did, although..." His eyes drifted to her stained shirt.

She noticed, and took a seat on the bed. "You work here, can't you or any of your friends take me out to a plane? Maybe give me a lift?" she laughed.

He shook his head, "I certainly don't have that liberty, lady. You're on your own."

"Well, do you have a phone? A computer?"

"In the palace and some of the labs, and buildings, but I wouldn't bother calling for help."

"Could you show me? I can call my brother, he'll come get me."

He was silent for a second, half turned away from her. He looked down with yet another unreadable expression. His pale features and russet hair were illuminated by the fire in the corner, he almost looked handsom-

"He wont come. No one comes for you here, you have no chance of getting off this damned island. Believe me, I know that better than anyone." He hissed, rushing out of the room.

He tried to slam the door behind him, but it was caught, and Mario entered the room. Claire was sitting, dumbfounded by Steve's outburst.

 _'Well, what was that all about...?'_

She watched the kid walk in, looking at her with big eyes, making her forget the event that just took place.

"Don't mind Steve, he's a really nice guy. He probably yelled at you because he thinks your pretty. He told me guys are mean to girls when they like them." He smiled.

* * *

Mario had advised her not to leave the cabin, and had told them how they were servants to the Ashfords, like the man who had barged into the room. Steve had left to do his work, and Mario eventually left again, before he 'got in trouble'. He told her to stay in the back room, and that if anyone came in, to hide. She wandered around the small shack, seeing two rooms, and a few beds in the main room. She searched the cupboards and found some crackers, which she snaked on absently, trying to figure her way out. Behind the curtains on the windows, she could see orange of the dying sun through the green fabric. When she heard the knob shake a bit, and turn, she bolted for the back room, closing the door and crawling under one of the bunks.

Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she stared into the fire, three different sets of footsteps clambered down the hall. She held her breath as they entered the room, two men and a woman speaking in Spanish from what she could gather. One set of shoes stopped facing the bunk she concealed herself under, and ducked down. She reared back as quietly as she could, clutching her weapon, but relaxed as Steve's face appeared before her, smiling.

"Chill out, we aren't gonna hurt ya."

He held out his hand for her, but she crawled out on her own. As she stood, she took in the other two who had come in with him. Both were Hispanic, around 30. The man had an eye patch, oddly, and the woman was clad in a worn out, almost cliché maids outfit, show casing the scars on her back and arms. They gave her a confused look, then looked at each other, muttering something she didn't understand. She brushed the dust away from her cloths, and when they turned back to her, she let herself relax and sent them a warm smile, which they immediately returned.

"So, your name is Claire? I'm Jonathan, this is my sister, Milena." he introduced themselves in a warm tone, motioning to his sister, who waved sheepishly.

"It's nice to meet you...-"

"Would you like to change? Your clothes have a few, uh, stains. I'm sure you could fit into something of mine." Milena offered suddenly, turning to go to one of the floor chests.

"No, that's sweet, but I'll be leaving soon. I have to get home you see..." she waved the woman off.

"Lady, I already told you, you aren't going to be able to get into those buildings. This place may not seem it, but it's heavily guarded. You wont make it 10 feet out the door." Steve said, crossing his arms.

"Well, I guess we will see, wont we? It was nice meeting you two." She smiled, and took the challenge.

She took out her weapon and promptly turned, walking out of the door quickly, without looking back, Steve hesitated for a moment, at a loss of what to do, but felt compelled to go after her for some reason. So he did, not saying a word to the pair in the room as he exited. Just before she pulled open the door to leave he placed a hand on her shoulder, and held firm.

"Wait Claire, let me go with you."

"Huh?"

"I know my way around the area, I can at least direct you, keep you safe."

She turned to face him, baffled by his behavior. Sure, he was still being cocky, but he was being _nice_ at the same time.

"If it's no trouble." She shrugged.

"It's a bit of a pain, but I need to get some fresh air."

She rolled her eyes. _'Nevermind.'_

They exited, and Steve placed his hands behind his head, taking in the cool night air. The moon was full and lit their path, thankfully, but according to Steve it was a disadvantage. He led her stealthily around the area, and down towards the woods she remembered coming from. He seemed to notice something she didn't, as he grabbed her hand and drove them faster, and dragged her down into the bushes.

"Ste-"

"Shhh."

He was kneeling, looking between the branches of the greenery while she lay on her stomach, only half aware of his hand on the small of her back. She wiggled a little and he removed it. They sat there for what seemed like forever, until he stood at full height, motioning for her to get up as well. As she rose, he froze, and she could see the barrel of a gun pointed right at his forehead. She crouched, and then pushed herself up quickly, pushing the barrel away from his head. She then brought the arm down over her shoulder, letting the mans body press against her back, and rammed her elbow into his ribs, causing him to lose his grip on the firearm. She fell forward, and turned awkwardly to aim the gun, but Steve was already on the guard, landing a punch square in between the mans eyes, and kicked him in the chest. He kicked him in the temple when he hit the ground, rendering him unconscious.

"Well, that was fun!" He chimed, earning an eye roll from the brunette.

She checked the body, only finding a key ring and an ID card. Steve led her through the tree's and they came out at the top of a small hill, and at the bottom of the slope stood a building.

"You sure this is safe to enter? No cameras?" She asked.

"Well...no. But if you want access to an outside source this is the only way you'll get it. There are some windows open at the side that you could crawl into. I'm not going. I'm not risking my neck. There should be a computer, or a phone in there...well, I'll see ya." He waved, and retreated into the woods a bit.

"Thanks." She muttered, and crept across the grass, keeping her eyes out for any people.

 _'I don't know why I actually thought he would come with me...oh well. You're a big girl Claire, you can do this.'_

She dashed to the window, and crawled inside. When she dropped onto the ground, she found herself in a small hallway with some tables that had miscellaneous items scattered about. After a brief once-over she decided there was nothing of importance and continued on. The door at the end of the hall was ajar, and she pushed it open quietly. The lights were off, which made her confident that it was empty, so she moved more freely. When she turned a corner, she came face to face with a row of computers. She set her gun down on the desk, and tried to get into them, most locked with passwords. She groaned as she kept getting the access denied screen, and moved to the next.

Steve had stopped running when he heard her enter the building, and slowly made his way back to his previous spot on the hill, looking over the building.

 _'She really must not get how dangerous this is. That, or she has balls of steel.'  
_

He had planned on leaving her to fend for herself, since he couldn't afford another screw up, but something held him there. She was a really nice girl, he could at least keep watch or something, right? But what was taking her so long? He started to get irritated, bored. Just as he was about to leave her behind again, he saw movement way off to the left. They were headed straight for the building Claire was searching right now.

 _'Shit, perfect timing!'_

"Claire." He whispered harshly, hoping she would some how hear from way up on the hill. He rushed down the side, trying to stay out of sight, and called out to her again.

"Claire!"

 _'Shit.'_

All or nothing, he jumped into the window and called her name again as he began searching.

 _'I swear if this dumb girl gets me caught...'_

He opened up the door to his left only to come face to face with the gun she had taken off the one soldier. She lowered it when she was him, and tried to say his name. He cut her off by grabbing her arms and taking her to the back of the room. The men were surely in the building at this point, so he took her and shoved her under a large table, and went with her. They scurried across the ground and back against the wall. She was pressed up against him in the small space, and he could feel her shake ever so slightly, but her expression never wavered as she clutched her knife.

"Wheres the gun?" he whispered.

"Desk. The noise would just attract people." she said.

The door was pushed open, and the two men came in and sat at the computers, and began typing.

"Hey...you think Jack forgot the password again? The computer is locking me out." one of them complained.

"Here, let me see..."

Steve tried to keep his breath steady, for both their sakes. He had no idea how long these guys would be in here. The two were fumbling around above, and one took the gun and tossed it onto the table they were under, making them flinch. The noise made him cry out slightly, and then the duo stopped moving. Claire looked at him with a panicked expression, and all he could do was mouth that he was sorry. They almost thought they wouldn't be caught, until one suddenly dropped under the desk and grab a handful of Claire's shirt, and dragged her from under the table.

"Claire, no!" Steve yelled, grabbing onto her legs and crawling forward, trying to knock the mans hands away.

"Fuckin'...ugh!" Claire growled.

She tried to turn around in his grip, and lash out, but he held her firm. Steve was detained by the other man, who was surprised by the discovery. The first pulled her up to his chest, and whispered something to her, something that sounded vulgar, that had Claire spitting, and for some reason, made him angry.

"Let go!"

But they ignored his pleas, and dragged them out of the computer room. Claire eventually calmed down, and allowed herself to be taken away. They were being led to the palace, Steve realized, and his heart hammered in his chest even harder. Alfred. They were taking them to the Ashfords. They were gonna kill him, they would torture Claire and then kill her too. Great, great. She got them killed, or did he? Was it his fault? Did he fail them both? What about Mario? Maybe he could get them out of it, maybe. Probably not. In his panic he almost didn't realize they were being led up the marble steps to the palace. She noticed the redheads fear, and caught his eye. She gave him a reassuring smile. She looked so strong, so confident. It did something to him, something he hadn't felt before. It calmed his nerves a bit, and he got a second to think.

The inside of the palace was extravagant, and seemingly empty to her wide eyes. Her gaze set on the large portrait high up on the wall, of a man dressed up in royal garb. She raised her eyebrow at the sight of the face being scratched out of the photo.

"You just can't seem to keep yourself out of trouble, can you?" The blond secretary sneered at Steve, who returned the dirty look.

"Fuck off."

"Excuse m-"

"Will you just shut up?" Claire snapped at the girl, causing Steve to snicker.

"Stop being a brat and call Alfred down." The one holding Steve barked.

She crinkled her nose and sat back down at the desk, picking up the phone and dialing. She muttered something about them being in the main floor, and then dropped the phone onto the receiver. She went back to her work on the computer, occasionally shooting dirty looks at the teenagers before her. A door upstairs slammed, and into view came a man in red, who sauntered down the stairs with a cheeky look on his face.

 _'So that's Alfred...'_ Claire thought.

"Well, it's a pleasure to see _you_ again, Mr. Burnside," he smiled, bringing his face close to the boys "...and who is this?"

"We found her, and him, hiding out in Lab C."

"I found her trespassing when I was on my way back to the cabins sir. I was going to escort her to you myself, when these two came along." Steve spoke up.

"That's why you were both hiding." The one holding Steve slapped him upside the head.

"Boy, are you trying to lie to me?" Alfred grabbed his face roughly, forcing him to look him in the eye.

"He isn't lying. He said he would get some sort of praise for bringing me to the island head." Claire said quietly.

 _'Look sad and defeated Claire. Get their attention off of him.'_

"Hmph. And what brings you to my island? Are you a _spy?_ I am so sick-"

"I'm not a spy, I was brought here by two men, and I got away from them. I was running when that boy captured me."

"Ah, so you're one of the whores House B brings along every once in awhile. Bart, take her back to them, wont you? Before they throw a fit, as for you, Burnside, I see you had good intentions, for that, I'll let you go this time, but only because I have a... _soft spot_ for you."

But Steve hardly heard his notion of freedom, he felt a slight rage boiling in his belly. He watched the man begin to drag a thrashing Claire away, and an idea came to mind.

"Sir! Why don't you let her work for you, since she was such a burden. If she just goes back to them they'll use her as the whore she is, and take her back to the coast."

She glared at him, not realizing what he was doing. Alfred seemed to ponder her suggestion for a moment, then smiled.

"Good idea, boy. We need more women for the cooking, since that one bitch died. But can she behave?"

"She seems fairly obedient. I'm sure she will learn her place quickly..." Steve spoke quietly, trying hard not to overstep any boundaries. His idea was working, but he could practically feel Claire's rage from beside him.

She moved her mouth to say something, but he gave her a look that said Stop. She shut her mouth, and looked at the ground, though still shaking.

"Fine. They'll escort her back to the cabin with you. She will be your responsibility Burnside, is she screws up, you will go down with her, do you understand me?"

He simply nodded, and let himself be led from the palace, very aware of Alfred's eyes on his back. It made him increasingly uncomfortable until he heard the large doors slam behind them, leaving the only sounds to be the boots on the cobblestone, and crickets off in the distance. Claire kept her head up high, occasionally shooting him an unreadable glance. She still seemed a little pissed, but he saw curiosity in there too. He wanted to apologize right there, he possibly just made it harder for her to get home to her...family, but at least she was safe, right?

He was able to think up a good plan for that, but he wasn't able to figure out why it mattered _so damn much._

* * *

 **A/N: I realized in my eagerness to put these chapters out, I made them very choppy and they went by a bit too quickly, so this will probably had a little rewrite in the future, and from now on I'll try to focus more on my content. Please review and thank you for reading!  
**

 **Frozenheart7: Thank you for the review! I'm glad you're eager to read! Kises!  
HeirateMarich: Haha yes! Claire's attitude is a force to be reckoned with ;) Thank you for your review!  
SAKURA-REVENGE: It really means a lot to hear that! 3 Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy, I hope I don't disappoint!**

 **Also, a thanks to all those who favorited and followed! You push me to continue with my content. 3**

 **Until next time!**

 **Unedited 5/7/15**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Not much of an exciting chapter, mostly a bridge type deal. I don't own anything except my ideas, and my OC's. Everything else belongs to Capcom!**

* * *

Claire had visibly calmed by the time they had reached the cabin, though she glared at the teen from under her bangs occasionally. The duo was shoved inside the door, falling on their hands and knees as the soldiers left. Everyone in the room had been in bed, but not resting, as Jonathan had informed them of Steve's departure after the newcomer. They all jolted as the door slammed, and the two got to their feet.

"What was that?" she scowled, fixing her hair and ignoring their audience.

"Sorry, I had to make it seem realistic." He shrugged.

"...Well what about the working for him thing...what does that entail?"

"You work for him, you're basically a maid. You'll do the dishes, clean, stock..."

He trailed off when her expression changed again, and her blue eyes went ablaze. Her voice rose to a shaky volume.

"You signed me off as a maid without asking me?"

"It was all I could think of in the moment! I was trying to help." He raised his hands, as if to ward off the Redfields fury.

"Taking me to the soldiers would have put me near the coast, I could have gotten away."

"Oh? Before or after they beat and raped you?" He shot back, her attitude was getting real irritating.

 _'Ungrateful fuckin'-'_

"I can handle myself, I think I proved that in getting away the first time."

"And got caught again."

"Oh-ho, I wasn't the one who practically pissed himself at a loud noise." she sneered, turning her back to him.

"Hey, screw you! I went in there trying to help you, and all you can do is bitch?" he groaned.

That made her go silent. She lamented over her attitude.

 _'He's right...I'm being ungrateful.'_

"I'm sorry. Just, this situation isn't really ideal. I appreciate your help, I really do." she spoke softly, and he looked at her, surprised by her response. She looked a little sad, but the look faded quickly, replaced by a determined smile.

"I guess I'll have to do a little more thinking, this place is locked down more than I thought." She continued, turning away to look out the window.

"I told you it wouldn't happen. No one has made it out of here in a long time." Steve said, sitting on the bed next to the older man from earlier, who nodded at them both.

"In a long time...so it's happened?" she asked, returning the acknowledgement.

"Yeah, one of my friends made it out of here when I was a bit younger. He only got so far though, before they caught him on shore. The Ashfords are highly secretive for whatever reason, so even if you get away, you aren't really free..." Jonathan interjected with a polite, but sad smile.

"I see..."

They sat in silence for a few moments, Claire crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, occasionally looking up at all those inside the room. She would catch eyes occasionally, but they would break away, seemingly shy.

"So, you two were caught?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah, in one of the labs. Thankfully we didn't get in trouble..." Steve answered.

"Well, Alfred seems to like you, a lot." He joked, and the boy made a mock vomiting noise, and faked gagging.

The older woman from before, Yolanda, she remembered, returned her gaze with a warm smile.

"Well, child, where would you like to sleep? I don't think you'll be leaving tonight." She stood up, and made her way over to the young girl.

"Oh, um, the floor is fine. I don't want to intrude-"

"Nonsense! Vamanos, there are empty beds in the back. I wont have you sleeping on the ground." she grabbed Claire's hand with surprisingly strong grip, and dragged her back to the room she had hid in originally, Steve, and Jonathan in tow.

"You boys don't mind having another chica in the room with you, I'm sure. Milena will love the company, especially with Emilia's passing..."

To avoid the impending awkward silence, Jonathan immediately agreed, and proceeded making the bed that Claire would take. There were two sets of bunks, parallel to each other at the back of the small room, and he set her bed underneath his sisters. Yolanda thanked him, and gave the girl a hug. She left the room at that, and Milena entered. She seemed confused at first, but Jonathan quickly explained Claire would be staying. She nodded politely at the American, but pulled her brother out into the hall.

"You gave her Emilia's bed?" she whispered harshly.

"It was the only open spot that was not the floor. Yolanda would not allow it, Milena I know how much she meant to you, but please don't take that out on her." He grabbed her shoulders lightly, and she turned away, tears brimming.

"I know, I know...," she looked into the crack of the door, seeing Mario, her godson, sitting with the girl on the bed "...I'm just not ready to let go."

"You have to let go, but not forget. If Emilia was here, you know she would have given up her bed without being asked. Think of it like that." He smiled, and she visibly relaxed.

"I still don't like it."

"You don't have to." he hugged her, and they reentered the room to see Mario happily chatting away with Claire, while Steve leaned against a wall, watching them out of the corner of his eye.

Jonathan laughed internally at the sight, the boy was way to obvious. He had his arms crossed, and occasionally his head would turn their way, and then snap back when he caught himself. Claire noticed it too, the odd green gaze from under her curtain-like bangs, but brushed it off when the boy beside her tugged on her jacket in the middle of a particularly exciting story. The tug made her realize how warm she was, and she shrugged the leather off, laying it beside her.

"And then Alfred wouldn't stop staring at Steve, and Steve got so sick one time he threw up!" Mario began laughing hysterically, and she saw the teen blush a bit.

"He's a creep." Steve groaned.

"I think he really does have a crush on you." Claire joked.

"Ew, don't say that, any of you." he cringed.

"Claire? Would you like to borrow something to sleep in?" Milena interjected, obviously tired, but not rude.

"Oh, I'm okay..."

"Here, in case you change your mind." she smiled, and handed her an outfit from her chest.

"Thank you." The brunette smiled warmly, taking the pile.

Jonathan began snuffing the fire while Milena crawled into bed. Steve took his own cloths to another room to change, even though the room had gone dark. Claire changed in the bathroom, the set consisted of a long white shirt, and something that resembled leggings. It wasn't the prettiest, but it was clean, and comfortable compared to leather and jeans. When she returned to the room, Mario was passed out at the foot of the bed. She shoved her previous attire under the bed and sat on the edge, trying not to disturb the boy. Steve reentered the room, in a pair of long shorts and a yellow t-shirt, and jumped into his own bed, surprisingly not disturbing anyone in the room.

"Does he have a bed?" Claire asked in the dark after a moment, the constant shuffling at the other end of the room signaling that the boy had yet to fall asleep.

"He usually sleeps in the living room, but that was his moms bed. He occasionally comes in here to sleep on it still, though." he answered, and turned onto his side to face the wall.

"Was..." she whispered, understanding.

As her eyes adjusted to the dark of the room, she was able to make out Steve's form, which had eventually stopped thrashing as he fell into a peaceful sleep. She longed to sleep as well, the lack of movement allowing her limbs to become heavy and fatigued. She sighed, and leaned back against the wall on the bed, and closed her eyes. Just as she began to drift, which didn't take long, Mario tugged on her arm again.

"Sorry, you can lay down." he yawned.

"No, sweetie, you go back to sleep. Don't worry about me." she cooed, scooting off of the bed.

"No, no, no. We can share, I don't mind." he insisted, moving back to the foot of the bed.

"Are you sure?" She asked, crawling onto the thin mattress, careful not to kick him.

"Mhm." he grunted simply, laying his head in his hands.

"Thanks." she whispered.

"You know, you remind me of my mom, you're a nice lady."

She just smiled, thinking of her own parents as she drifted off.

Steve listened to the two talk, and found himself smiling a little. He hadn't expected Mario to warm up to the idea of someone being in his moms bed, but he seemed to really like Claire. Everyone seemed to like the brunette. Even when he first met everyone, they were cautious, but they seemed fine around her. She just had that kind vibe to her, even when she would glare at him, or when she tried to stab him, that she didn't want to hurt him, but she could. He felt a small stab of remorse, he had gotten her stuck here. It would be harder to get to the coast from here. She didn't deserve to be stuck here like them, she had family out there that she obviously cared about, parents and siblings, friends. If she wanted to leave, he would help her. That was the least he could do.

* * *

The late night certainly had it's effect on him, as he rose with a stiff body and a cloudy mind. It was before dawn, as usual. The alarm had gone off twice, waking up the cabin to begin work before anyone else woke. Claire groaned, rubbing her eyes while Milena and Jonathan were already dressed and out of the room. Milena had left a set of cloths out for her, black slacks and a white button up, saying something along the lines of receiving her own uniform before leaving the room. Steve entered the room to see Claire fully changed, and re-tying her hair into a ponytail by use of the windows reflection.

"I don't know what, or where I'm supposed to go." she confessed, hoping he would offer some guidance. If she were to make it out of here, she would have to draw as little attention to herself as possible.

"You can just come with me, I'll show you what you have to do. Just follow any orders and you'll be _fine."_ He said as he left, and she followed.

Mario had already left, after jumping around Steve's feet for awhile. They were, as usual for Steve, the last to leave for their daily work. Today, he was to work inside the palace, to work on the gambling room. He was to clean, maintain the slot machines, and the piano, and restock alcohol. The Ashfords didn't sleep in the palace, as it and the surrounding buildings were used for meetings, operations and entertaining guests. Oddly enough, the Ashfords home was the only place the servants of the island were not allowed to access or work inside, and from what he heard from actual personnel, no one knew anything about it. Due to that, he entered without much grace, pulling open the door and letting it slam as he entered the closet full of supplies, letting things drop and make noise. She picked up the few items that had fallen in his wake, and followed him up the plush red staircase. The room was on the other side of the stairs, and required a key to enter, which he had a ring of. They entered the small bar, and Steve set to work on one of the slot machines they were faced with.

"You mind cleaning up some of this shit, Claire?" He asked, motioning towards the tables and the bar.

"Sure." she nodded, taking a rag and wiping down the tables, and pushing in the chairs.

 _'This isn't so bad, it's just like working at Emmy's diner back home.'_

She threw out a few napkins, and placed some glasses on the bar to clean in a moment. She passed the piano, and saw that it was loaded with a piano roll. She started it, a beautiful melody playing throughout the large hall, the music leaking out over the balcony that overlooked the main room. She went back to her work, and found herself longing for home, and got lost in her thoughts until Steve cried out, pulling her from zoned out state.

"What's wrong?" she asked, jerking away from the sink where she had been washing the shot glasses.

"Nothing...just, this door hit my shin." He complained, rubbing the spot.

Confused, she came out from behind the counter and went to his side, inspecting the bottom of the slot machine, where a metal door jutted out.

"There's something in here..." she informed him, taking the object from the otherwise empty space.

"Some antique?" he asked, eying the odd statue.

It was an ant, with a metal skeleton and sapphires to give color. It looked valuable, and must be to be hidden like that. After a second of mulling it over, Steve took the ant from her and shoved it into his pack, mumbling something about selling it if he ever got out of there. She doubted it was a good idea to steal from this particular family, but after a quick look-around for camera's, she decided it would be his problem in the end.

He finished on the machines, and the piano was obviously working, so he announced that the room was completed, and that they were to move onto the next one, on the other side of the staircase. The room was a secretaries office, with ceiling high bookshelves, and plush burgundy furniture.

"This place looks pretty clean already, do we need to work on it?" She asked.

"Might as well, a little bit. Vacuum, straighten up. Then we're supposed to work in the kitchen." He answered, crossing his arms behind his head, watching her as she grabbed a stack of papers and straightened them out.

He vacuumed, and she cleaned the pictures. As they finished up, Claire's eye caught the golden plate on the door on the other side of the room. There were two indents, beautifully gilded into the plate, were a pair of ants.* Upon closer inspection, the divots were extremely deep. She tried the handle first, then pulled the ant from Steve's pack, which he had left on the coffee table. They were roughly the same size, and as she rose the statue to the indent, the handle jiggled, and the sound of a key ring sounded from the other side. She panicked, jumping back towards Steve, actually landing against his chest as she fumbled the bag, shoving the ant back inside.

Alfred entered the room, not seeming surprised to see them, he only smiled at the two teens.

"Well, hello there you two. Seems she's behaving, and adapting well. Steven, you never did tell her name." he looked at her with a mocking smile.

"Her name is Claire." he answered simply, trying to relax, finding it hard with the girl pressed against his chest, and the creepy Ashford staring at them both.

"Well, Claire, seems you found a uniform to borrow...but I think you need your own. I brought you one." He handed her a pile of cloths, and she reluctantly accepted.

She took a quick look at the outfit on top and cringed, a small, deep blue dress that fit the stereotypical maid look, and a low cut front. Steve certainly didn't complain in that moment. As soon as she had lifted it up, Alfred began shooing them out. She took one last look at the gilded plate before he shoved them, then shut the door behind them, locking it.

"Are you guys allowed back there?" She asked in a whisper, handing him his pack.

"No, never. We usually aren't even allowed in that room we were just in." he said, eyes falling to the clothes in her arms.

She noticed, and brought them up to her chest, "You're dreaming if you think I'll ever wear this."

He blushed madly, turning away semi awkwardly, "As if I'd want to. You ain't my type."

She just rolled her eyes, following him down the stairs, mind wandering back to the gilded door.

* * *

 **A/N: Didn't really know where to leave off on that one. I already have the ended planned out, but I want to stretch it out and make some time in between, so it isn't so face paced. I also want to include development, so excuse me if future chapters take a little bit. As I always say, reviews push me to write. c:  
**

 **HeirateMarich: Thanks! I hope you like where I end up taking this.  
InuSBfan87: Hello! Thank you, it means a lot! And thanks, I love building on the Ashfords odd bonds and personalities, so that compliment makes me very happy. C:**

 **Thanks for reading!**

Until next time!

Unedited 6/15/15


	6. Chapter 6

**A/n: Blah blah blah rights blah blah blah capcom blah blah blah love me**

* * *

The next few days went by without incident. The room that contained the gilded door remained locked, and Claire had yet to find access to a proper outside connection. She spent her time trying to focus on the work that would be presented to her, instead of focusing on her situation, or her brother, or a certain red-head. Thankfully, he didn't make the former too hard, since he never asked her anything personal, just cracked a lot of jokes, and goofed off.

 _'At least it keeps things interesting.'_ she sighed to herself.

They were loading in boxes from a small truck, things that ranged from food, to clothes, to military equipment (No weapons, both of them noticed). Once the small ones had been brought into the doorway, Claire moved to grab one of the larger ones, only to have Steve sweep in and grab it for her.

"Let me get that for ya." He grinned, bringing the box right under the one he was already carrying.

He struggled to bring both up, but carried them to the door without complaint. He was still smirking when he came back, and she rolled her eyes, taking another box for herself. When she came to a particularly heavy one, she struggled a little to keep it up. She did her best not let her problem be seen, but when she hit a rock, dropping said box, the russet haired boy appeared before her and caught her. The load hit the ground, whatever inside sounded like it had shattered, while Claire hit his chest. He held her there faintly, before she regained her thoughts and pulled away while the guard supervising them began yelling.

"See? I got your back." He grinned as she absently brushed the non-existent dirt from her dress.

"Thanks."

 _'What are these?'_ she wondered.

She knelt down beside the crate. It had crashed into the ground, spilling the contents across the ground. It was a bunch of vials, thankfully none broke, filled with a deep blue liquid. She frantically began picking them up to avoid being punished, but she could hear the rapid approaching footsteps behind her. She turned her back to him and took a vial, hiding it in the cuffs on her wrist on impulse, as she was grabbed by her ponytail and pulled up roughly.

"Are you going to pay for that? Huh?" his yelling causing spit to fly onto her cheek.

She stayed silent as he threw her back down onto the ground, landing on her knees, grazing them.

"Claire!"

"Pick all of it up, you too." He grunted, eyes on the boy who was rushing over to her.

Steve followed the large mans gaze, straight to Claire's bum as she gathered the contents, and narrowed his eyes. He came up behind her, and blocked the mans view, picking up the rest. He smiled to himself when the grunt made a frustrated noise, and came up beside her.

"You okay?" He asked, genuine concern flashing in his green eyes.

It made her smile, and she nodded. The grunt continued to curse as they finished cleaning up the mess, and Steve lugged it to the drop point after telling her to watch out for the man. The room where the boxes were taken was a fair distance, and as he disappeared behind some bush, the man came up behind her, too close for her to ignore it. She walked forward, only to be dragged back to him, and turned to face him. The look he had she had almost come accustomed to, which only added to her unease. Everyone on this damned island was sadistic or a depraved pervert, and she mentally cursed Alfred up and down for the _shit_ attire she was given to wear. Steve had allowed her to wear his uniforms, but today of all days the loads were taken to be cleaned, leaving her with the maid garb.

With his grip still tight on her arms, he used his knee to lift the fabric up her thighs a bit, causing her to kick out at him.

"Is that a no? You realize I can take it _and_ tell Alfie, right? Or you can cooperate and make it easy on everyone here, including your friend." he grinned, grabbing hold of her face tightly.

"Get bent." she growled, only to be forcefully kissed.

Steve could hear the struggling as soon as he placed the broken crate on the ground, and rushed back to the loading dock. Sure enough, he had been correct. As soon as she was left alone they made a move on her.

"Get off of her!" he shouted

She struggled, and landed a well placed punch to his throat with her free hand, making him let go. He called her name, moving over to her and helping her steady herself.

"I heard you were a bitch, but I didn't know you could throw a punch." he almost laughed, his hand covering his throat.

Steve felt a little proud of Claire, and smirked for a moment, until the man started coming towards them both, leering at Claire specifically. Steve pushed her behind him, standing between the two. He rolled his eyes at the thin teen, and actually threw his punch around him, landing it on Claire's cheek. She cried out, grabbing Steve's shirt to steady herself again. Steve pushed the mans hand away, landing his own punch on his nose, hearing a satisfying crack when his fist connected.

He felt a massive rush of adrenaline, combined with his sudden anger, and the excitement of the fight. He looked back at Claire, who cupped her cheek for a moment, then called out to him. "Watch out." she warned.

He turned away, and ducked out of the way of an oncoming punch. Where he lacked in strength, he made up for in speed and litheness. He landed another hit to the side of his head, and threw all his weight into a kick, to force him away. He slipped in the mud, thanks to the rain earlier, and fell into it, knocking his head against a rock.

"Ha-ha, that was great." Steve boasted, his body still full of adrenaline.

"Is...is he okay?" Claire asked, walking over to the hunched form, ignoring Steve's cocky words.

"Oh, yeah...I think he knocked himself out." Steve answered, jarred from his triumphant thoughts.

"I'm fine, you shit." the soldier grunted, pushing himself up.

Claire backed away from his form, but he didn't look at her, or at Steve. She was confused at first, but then understood as he kept his eyes down. He was embarrassed. Steve seemed to catch is as well, as he grinned at her.

"Get back to work!" He shouted, noticing the two staring at him.

It jarred them, and they returned to the truck, each taking a box.

"Are you okay Claire? That doesn't look to good..." He asked, concerned as her cheek started to bruise.

She turned her face away, feeling self conscious all of a sudden. She covered her cheek with her hand after she set her load down.

 _'huh?'_ he wondered.

"Hey," He spoke softly, taking her hand from her face "...you still look...great." _'Beautiful'_ "I just want to know if you're okay." he said, turning his face as he was flushing madly.

She flushed too, looking down, "I'm fine, thanks for the help."

He began to feel awkward, like he said something wrong. But she smiled at him as he stood up, and he offered her his hand, and they continued the mornings work as rain clouds rolled in.

* * *

He watched her go over the room for the second time that afternoon, checking every nook and cranny as she went about the normal routine. She would open little cupboards, check under drawers and things of that nature.

"Jesus Claire, what are you looking for?" He sighed, crossing his arms as he observed her.

She turned to face him, seemingly contemplating her answer.

"Claire?"

"You know that door in the secretary's room? Well I think that the stupid ant statue you found is some sort of key...but I think we need two. I've been searching but I have no real idea where to look...Steve, I wanted to tell you-"

"That was days ago, why didn't you mention it?" he cut her off, obviously frustrated.

She didn't want to admit that she had thought about leaving alone, and not telling anyone when or how. It seemed selfish, yes, but the extra party would only bring attention. She wasn't trying to get anyone shot, she just wanted to go home. But her mind had begun to change, maybe they could sneak away in pairs, but it just seemed to risky. She took a look at Steve, trying her best to hide her guilt.

 _'Would he leave me behind if he were in my position?_

 _I know he wouldn't leave anyone else at the cabin...but I certainly don't mean anything to him, right?'_

 _"Get off of her!"_

" _you still look...great...I just want to know if you're okay...'_

She sighed. He helped her, more than once. She owed it to them.

"You were gonna try to escape alone, without telling anyone, right?" he accused, far beyond frustrated, even _hurt._

"Steve, it isn't like that-"

"Even after we helped you? After I risked my ass to keep you safe? You would just leave us behind, not even tell us our own way out?"

"Steve will you just listen to m-"

He cut her off with a quick wave of his hand, he could feel himself shaking, his face flushing. He closed his eyes tightly, turned, and stormed out of the room.

"Find your stupid piece on your own, you were just a pain anyways." He yelled over his shoulder as the door slammed.

He didn't stop until he had wandered to the edge of the territory he could freely explore, and sat on the stone wall, his hands fidgeting.

 _'I don't care if she leaves anyways, she doesn't care, neither do I.'_

He lost himself in the thought, not noticing the few tears that had collected at his lashes, falling onto his pale cheeks as he shook his head.

 _'None of them ever care about who they leave behind.'_

* * *

"Steve..." she trailed off, watching the wood slam in her face.

His footsteps eventually echoed off. She choose not to chase him in her shame. She simply finished both of their assigned tasks herself, assured he would be fine on his own. It was getting late, and by herself, the chores were taking a hell of a lot longer.

 _'I still have to mop the halls, and clean the figurines in the screening lounge...'_

She tried to distract herself, but the previous transaction made it hard to concentrate. She felt horrible.

 _'Like you should'_ she scolded herself.

 _'But I never got the chance to tell him I had changed my mind.'_

They had definitely grown on her, especially Steve. It would take a lot of work, but they could make it work, right? But as she tried to rationalize it, Steve's face came to mind, the angry look on his young features. He looked hurt, something she didn't expect from him. Her face twisted into a sad grimace, the image making her heart ache as she opened the door with the silver crest.

 _'Wait...'_

It was left open. It was always locked before. She looked around to see if there were any cameras or people, and found it to be clear. She grabbed a duster, and entered the plush room, making sure to shut the door behind her. It looked like a meeting room, with a projector at the head of the room, and a U-shaped desk that was covered in papers, with enough chairs for twenty people.  
Her curiosity got the best of her, as she checked the desk at the front of the room. Along with a yellow clipboard and some papers, was a remote to work the projector. Absently, she turned it on, the video resuming in the middle of itself.

"The progenitor virus can cause mutations, such as this..." A blond man spoke, and the reel flickered to a shot of some odd beast that resembled something from a horror film.  
It was deformed, with a huge hunchback and oddly green skin. It lashed out at the camera, which looked over a small, otherwise empty cell. He continued to speak over the dim film.

"It should be held with EXTREME caution, only authorized and experienced personnel should be allowed to transport the samples, and only scientists allowed to work with said samples under controlled environments. Any unauthorized actions with the samples will be punished severely."

The screen flickered to a lab, scientists in hazmat suits were writing down notes as two robotic arms held vials, one red, and one a few that were blue.

"That looks like..." Claire trailed off, pulling the vial from under her wrist cuff.

"These are our newest B.O.W.'s, by further mutating previous experiments, and working with new amphibians..."

The screen flickered over more odd beasts and mutations, as the man went over how the virus reacted with the cells of different animals and test subjects. She saw odd, man like creatures with huge claws, and exposed brains, using said claws to crawl around the ceiling of their holding cell. Their large, long tongues dripping saliva and blood, from the meal that had been left in the room, a pig.

Her stomach lurched at the sight, and she forced herself to tear her eyes away. She turned back after a while, eyeing the symbol in the bottom right corner.

 _'Umbrella...the pharmaceutical company?'_

"Alfred and Alexia Ashford, you will be sent a new shipment this coming month, transported by HUNK, and left for your soldiers to take into the laboratory. You have some of our most skilled scientists at hand, and I expect good things to come from you both." He nodded at the camera, and the reel cut off abruptly, letting the room go dark.

 _'This is the virus then? This can't be legal, can it? Those poor people...'_

It clicked. The Ashford's worked with Umbrella, they aided in creating those...monsters. If she could get out of there, she could show the police this evidence, the tapes, the virus. Even if they didn't believe her story and came to free the rest of the servants, they would have to shut down the island, right? Investigate...they would find everyone and free them...and there would be no more of those...experiments.

She shivered, remembering the horrible things on the reel, large toads, zombie-like creatures.

 _'Alfred is going to be in deep shit either way...letting me and Steve transport the crate containing this shit. Not a very good choice to run an illegal operation.'_ she rolled her eyes, taking the tape from the projector and hiding it in her bra. The file seemed useful as well, so she grabbed it, and searched the rest of the room for anything important. She found an envelope full of pictures, of the subjects she had seen on the tape. The names were listed on the backs, anything from Licker, to Hunter, Crimson Head, and even Lisa.

 _'Sick'_ she grimaced.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard footsteps on the linoleum outside.

 _'Shit, shit, shit.'_ she cursed, diving behind the far side of the U desk as the door knob jiggled.

 _'I left the mop out there, they know I'm here. I'm so fucking screwed I jus-"_

"Claire?" a timid voice called quietly.

"Steve? Oh god, you scared me." She answered happily, almost running towards him, but stopped, remembering.

"Claire, I'm sorry about what I said earlier, I..." He trailed off.

"No, no. It's fine, I was being selfish, I'll admit...but I couldn't bring everyone with me, we'd get caught. But I found something...the Ashfords, they're involved with something, it has to be illegal. If I can get out of here, I can go to the police, my brother works in a police department, they'd believe me, and I have evidence. I can get everyone out of here." She finished, coming closer to him, showing him the papers.

He had no idea what she was talking about, and cocked his head to the side, like a puppy.

 _'Cute.'_ she thought.

"I...I can't show you right now, but they're testing on people, on animals, turning them into weird creatures with this," she pulled out the vial of blue liquid, and a few photos she found of the subjects "...a virus. If I can get away, I can get this place shut down, for sure. You'll all be released." She smiled triumphantly.

His face twisted into a look of disgust as he stared at the photos, shoving them back into her hands.

"That's insane, they can't get away with shit like that." he stated.

"They wont. I'll make sure of it." She nodded, looking him in the eye.

He returned the gaze, the intensity in his gaze making her a little uncomfortable.

"Let me go with you." It wasn't so much a question, more like a plea.

"It'll be dangerous Steve, if they find these things on me, I'll be killed."

"I want to go with you, besides," he grinned "...I can be your knight in shining armor, nothin' will hurt you."

She rolled her eyes, and he dropped the grin, feeling a little embarrassed, "And I want to take these two down just as much, probably more than you do, for what they've done to me and the others...please let me come."

She nodded, understanding, "I can't really stop you, can I?" she smiled.

His grin returned, "Yes!" he cried happily. "Let's do this."

"First things first, we need to find that ant statue."

"Well, let's get on it." He answered, leaving the room, with Claire on his heels.

She wandered to the end of the hall, to finish the nights work, and her eyes drifted to the beautiful door way on her right. The sides were etched with beautiful designs and was oddly elegant compared to the rest of the hall. She had seen it before, but never had the chance to ask about it.

"What room is that?"

"That? That's the gallery." He answered while walking away.

 _'Gallery.'_

"Wait, let's check it out."

He watched her pull at the doorknob to no avail, and began to panic.

"Claire, don't do that," He whispered, pulling her away from the door gently "...We aren't allowed in there."

"But why not? You'd think that would be a prime spot for our services." she rolled her eyes.

"You'd think so, but one of the workers destroyed a few items in there, so now they keep it locked." He spoke, Mario's chubby face coming into mind.

She nodded, understanding, "We need that key Steve."

"Why?"

"Because I have a feeling that's where we should be looking." She stated simply, her intense gazing shifting from the golden doors to his eyes, burning with determination that he had yet to see in his lifetime.

 _'It..she seems so sure of herself...'_ his thoughts trailed away to Milena for a moment, comparing the woman's scarred, and frail figure against Claire's healthy one. Her sad, dull eyes against the gaze that lay upon him now.

 _'I wont let her become like that. We will get out of here, no one may have helped me, but I can help her."_ He thought as she nodded to him, and began walking down the hall, leaving him to stare after her.

* * *

 **And that's that. This was a pain for me to write some reason, but here it is. Thanks to the people who have Favorited and followed since my last chapter!**

 **frozenheart7: Haha yes! Steve knows he can't resist his Claire-bear. c: Thanks for your reviews!**

 **Until next time!**

 **Unedited 6/24/15**


	7. Chapter 7

**Capcom owns Resident Evil and their characters. I only own my ideas, and my OC's. Thank you for reading!**

* * *

 _'This place really has a way of making me hate the fucking rain.'_ Claire thought, staring out the window with her head in her hand, frowning as she noticed the slight pigmentation across her cheekbone.

She had woken before everyone else, due to the excitement of her imminent escape. Well, that and the _very_ rude storm outside. If they get out early, they could make good time, search more places. They'd be leaving now, but...

 _'I don't have the heart to wake him...'_ she smiled softly at his sleeping form, which was reflected in the dark glass. She yawned.

Rain and leaves pelted the glass as the storm picked up, and she silently cursed it. She took the opportunity to change into her clothes for the day, or rather, Steve's.

 _"I want you to wear these, even if I gotta keep wearing the same ones, you can have the clean ones. We don't need anyone getting any more idea's than they already do."_

He insisted she would wear his sets, and she certainly wasn't complaining. It was much more comfortable, attributed to growing up with her brother, skirts and clothing of that nature weren't really her first choices, besides, the less leering at her, the better.

 _'Who ever designed those damn uniforms deserves to be shot.'_ she grunted, turning her attention to the sleeping boys in the room. _'At least these guys have some decency...'_

She wondered briefly wondered the origins of everyone in the cabin. They should be bitter, but they were all extremely kind, polite...not just humble, as you would expect someone whose been beaten down to be. Only Milena seemed...off, but after the treatment Claire had been receiving, she could only imagine why, especially with Mario's parents being gone...

 _'And what about Steve? Where are his parents? The others are island natives, but he seems like he's Canadian or something...'_

She turned to face him now, his head snuggled into a pillow like a young child.

 _'Steve...who brought you here, and where is your family?'_

* * *

"Claire...Claire, c'mon, we gotta get moving."

"Hn..." She groaned, then jumped up, coming face to face with a startled Steve.

 _'I must have fallen back asleep...at least it stopped raining.'_

"Good to see you're already dressed." Jonathan joked, sitting next to Milena, who was fixing Mario's hair.

The boy made a face as she pulled a knot out, and wriggled from her grasp, running up to Claire's bed.

"Can I come with you guys today? Please-eeeeeee." The boy begged, bouncing on the balls of his feet and looking to Steve expectantly.

He gave Claire a questioning look, but she simply shrugged her shoulders.

 _'if we go anywhere near that Gallery...I don't know how he will react.'_ he thought, looking into the boys wide brown eyes.

 _'I've been kinda neglecting him lately, but it's for the better, right?'_

"I don't know about today, we have a heavy work loa-"

Mario's demeanor completely changed as soon as Steve began talking, he predicted the older boy would say no. He glared at the redhead, his tiny fists balling up.

"You never wanna be around me anymore, ever since you met a girl..."

The two teens were taken aback by Mario's attitude change, and Claire noticed tears gathering in his eyes. She faced Steve, who was looking at her with a desperate look on her face. He didn't know jack shit about kids, he didn't know what to do. She nodded at him, mouthing 'let him come'. As much as he didn't like the idea, he didn't want to leave the kid here like this. He knelt beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, c'mon. You can come with us, okay? Just no more crying." He attempted to sooth him, it came out awkward, but Mario didn't seem to notice, perking up immediately.

The little boy looked at Claire, and apologized. He held out a small hand for her to grab and led her out the house, Steve in tow.

"They _have_ been spending a lot of alone time together, haven't they?" Jonathan absently commented, watching the trio leave the cabin as he tied his laces.

"Well, Steve is probably happy to have someone his age around, especially someone who seems just as reckless." Amie, an older woman commented as she smoothed out her apron, ready to go cook breakfast for the Ashfords.

"I think it's a little more than that." Yolanda commented slyly, winking at the people before her.

"I don't know, Claire seems more respectable than tha-" Milena started.

"I don't mean that, filthy minded child" she scolded jokingly "...Steve's gotta crush, ain't it obvious?"

"I mean, he thought girls were icky like, what...3 weeks ago? That didn't take long." Jonathan answered, smirking.

"Well son, it never does, you should know that from personal experience."

* * *

Claire felt a pang of guilt for the young boy in front of them, and she looked at Steve, whose expression mirrored hers. He bolted ahead a little bit, giving them a chance to talk.

"I feel bad, I didn't acknowledge how lonely he must be." she lamented as they walked, lolling her head to the side to look at him.

He didn't respond, and averted her gaze. "Let's get going." he commented as Mario turned a corner ahead of them.

She stared after him, _'He must be really lonely too.'_

"Steve, wait," He stopped, but didn't look back "...What happened to Mario's parents?"

He faced her, sighing softly "They were both killed, Mario broke a vase and they killed his mom, and when he ran for the woods to meet his dad, they shot him too...it was the same day I met him."

She looked down, but the end of that sentence, it didn't seem right, "How long ago then?"

"Few years ago." He answered simply.

"And why are you here?" she pried gently.

He frowned, turning his back to her.

"Don't ask m-"

"Hey guys, hurry up!" Mario's cheery voice sounded in the distance, interrupting Steve. He simply spun on his heels, brushing past her in a huff. She sighed, following after him.

Mario entered the black iron gate that led to the palace, and ran into Alfred, literally. He bumped into the man, and stopped, looking up with wide,scared eyes. Alfred sneered at the boy.

"Out of my way, you little snot." He growled, bowling the child over with a slap of his hand.

Claire rushed up the steps, grabbing a stunned Mario by the shoulders and pulling him back to her. She held her tongue, but glared at the blond fiercely.

"Oh stop it woman, you don't frighten me, you're just a rat...," He trailed off as Steve raced up the stairs, putting himself in front of the two "Ah, Mr. Burnside, it's lovely to see you..."

The boy cringed a bit, avoiding the blue gaze. Instead, his sight shifted to the object catching the light from the lamps around them, a key ring, with a nice gold one.

 _'Are those the keys we need?'_ He wondered, hands twitching. _'If so, how do we get it?'_

Claire was already on it, she sauntered up to the Ashford, keeping her eyes locked on his.

 _'I have to get those keys.'_

 _'What is she doing?!'_

"And look at you, you already seem like you've caused some trouble." Alfred commented, referencing the discoloration on her cheek.

 _'Keep him talking.'_

"And it seems you hired an entire crew of pigs who don't know their place." she spoke, unperturbed.

"I think it's you, who needs to know their place, woman!" he challenged suddenly as she came nose to nose with him, glaring.

 _'Keep him distracted.'_ she thought as she reached nimbly for the key ring, trying to slip it off of his belt.

"And what makes you so special? You're just a sexually confused pervert running a backwater base." She said coolly.

 _'Claire, what are you doing? You're going to get us killed! What do I do...'_ His eyes wide as she pressed her chest against the man in a challenging way.

"How dare you touch me with your _filthy_ body!" He spat, backing up, and slapping her hard, enough to make her turn to the side.

Her cheek stung, yes, but she smiled with satisfaction. The turn had given her the advantage, she lifted her hand undetected as he struck, allowing her to take the keys, and place it into the pocket that was faced away from him. She knelt on the ground, pretending to be stunned by the hit.

 _'Time to play the game Claire, make him let you off.'_

"Tell me, why shouldn't I kill you now? You're an inconvenience, a-"

"Don't hurt Claire!" Mario pleaded, crawling in front of her hunched form.

"Mario, don't." She whispered, panicking now.

"Oh, is this your new whore mother?" Alfred curled his lip, staring down at the child.

Mario didn't really understand the word, but he heard the venom in his voice, it wasn't a compliment.

"My mom was not a-a whore." Mario stuttered a bit on the word, but held his ground, fists balled.

"Then tell me, who is your dad? Hmm?" Alfred invited.

"Nicolas!" he replied, though less confident in his answer.

"Ha! Isn't that a pity? You're the only one who doesn't know." Alfred left it at that, ignoring the kids pleas for an answer, an explanation. Instead, he simply, walked away, yelling for them to continue their work.

"Claire, are you okay? What were you thinking?" Steve fell beside her, hand on her arm as he observed her face, still red.

"Steve, I'm fine, look." She smiled coyly, holding the key ring in front of his pale face.

"You're a genius!" he laughed, taking the keys from her and staring at them.

"Let's go to that room now, if it isn't there, I'm going to be pissed..." It came out as a joke, but it wasn't a lie.

"Right." Steve agreed.

Mario was silent, ready to cry out of confusion, but he tried his best to hold strong. Steve never cried about his parents, Steve never cried at all. He had to be strong just like him.

"Hey, kiddo, don't pay any mind to what Alfred said, okay? He was just trying to make you sad." Claire said suddenly, coming up next to him and smiling.

He nodded, smiling back.

 _'I guess he can't resist that smile either. She's certainly good at cheering people up.'_ he admired, watching her plump lips curve.

"You coming Steve?" She asked suddenly, now standing with Mario clinging to her pant leg.

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

"Mario, you should go do your chores in the dining hall now." Steve ordered, more than asked as they entered the hall.

"Why?" He pouted.

"If you head back, we'll bring you back a surprise." Claire answered, remembering the candy she picked up in the kitchen on their way to the palace.

He seemed to contemplate that, then smiled, easily persuaded. "Fine. I'll see you back there!"

He darted away and Steve nodded to Claire. He turned the key, opening the grand double doors carefully, as to not make noise. Inside, the gallery was much smaller than she anticipated, just a square room with a thick pillar in the middle. The walls were adorned with old paintings of nobles, and random gold statues littered the corners of the room. Golden vines wrapped around the pillars, down to the plush red rug. At the head of the room, there was a short set of stairs, leading to a platform with a portrait of a young Alfred and Alexia. On each side, lay statues on marble tables, in front of red velvet curtains.

"Let's check up there." Claire said, already ascending the stairs.

"I...shit, I don't see anything." She cursed, turning to see Steve shoving a small golden tiger into his pack, flashing her a grin.

"Steve, put that back, we don't want to make it obvious that we were here."

"Right..." he answered, placing the tiger back down with a disappointed look.

"So why couldn't Mario come in here?" She asked as she scanned the tables.

"This room, this is where his mom died. I didn't want him coming back in here and having him remember it."

"Oh..."

 _'That poor kid...I can't wait to take these bastards out.'_

Steve backed up against the wall, but felt nothing as he leaned back.

 _'Shit!'_ he screamed mentally, feeling his back come into contact with the platform beneath the picture of the Ashfords.

 _'The vase!'_ he panicked, flipping around and grabbing it, just as it began to tip.

He felt the cracks underneath his fingertips, and traced them, remembering the story Mario, and Jonathan had told him.

 _"He knocked the vase over, and Alexia found them shorty after. He had Emilia...killed," He paused, gulping "...and she just told him to run, to get out of there."_

He steadied himself, and placed the vase back onto the platform properly, heart beating wildly in his chest. He heard Claire giggling behind him, and flushed.

"Well, I think thats a sign that it's time to go..." He didn't hear the rest of her sentence.

He heard something clink inside the pot, and looked inside.

 _'You gotta be kidding me...'_

"Claire, wait...look! We almost missed this." He said, turning the vase over above his palm. With a little shake, the red at fell into his hand, and Claire's face lit up.

"You-you did it, Steve, we can leave now!" She cheered quietly, her heart soaring.

He almost dropped the vase as he cheered too, but ended up setting it down, cupping the ant object in his hands protectively. He stared at the brunette, breathing hard. He felt an urge, to just throw himself at her, press his lips to hers in joy, but he bit it down.

 _'Now is not the time Steve...'  
_

Claire watched his expression change to something nervous, doubtful, so she flashed a reassuring smile.

"Steve, we can do this...unless you want to back out? I promise I wont forget you gu-"

"I'm fine, lets go. Let's finish our rounds, when the twins are dining, we will leave." His determination returned, and she nodded, turning, and running towards the double doors with Steve right behind.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello again! Sorry this was a little shorter than usual. Well, this story is coming to a close soon, within the next 3 or 4 chapters as I see it now. Thanks for everyone who is still reading, and for all the reviews so far. This is fun to write and I'm glad some people enjoy it! Please drop a review if you liked it, it really makes my day, even if it's constructive criticism.** _  
_

 **frozenheart7: Indeed! I think they are so adorable. c:**

 **Until next timeee**

 **Unedited 6/29/15**


	8. Chapter 8

**Resident Evil belongs to Capcom, I only own my ideas and OC's.**

* * *

Mario had wandered back to the cabin. The promise of surprises only distracted him for so long, and he started to think about Alfreds words again. He didn't really comprehend them, but they were obviously mean. Why would he talk badly of momma?

Momma was nothing but nice to everyone. It upset him, and it only made him miss her more. Momma would have told him off.

Milena noticed his dismal attitude immediately, and rushed over to him. Her and Jonathan knelt beside him, asking him questions, until the duo eventually made their way to the cabin.

Steve continued to battle with himself.

 _'Do I tell them? What if they try to come?'_

"Steve, we need to talk to you. You as well, Claire."

They looked at each other, unable to decipher the siblings tone. They nodded, and followed them to the back room. The door was shut behind them, and the duo stared.

"Mario told us what happened earlier, first, what got into you to approach Alfred like that? To endanger Mario and Steve?" Jonathan scolded, putting emphasis on Mario.

The look Steve gave her, told her not to tell, "I wouldn't have let that priss hurt either of them."

"Don't put Mario in danger like that again, you hear?...Now, what did he say to him? Something about his parents?" His voice became soft, but there was something else...desperation?

"Mario tried to defend me and he basically called Mario's mother a whore," Jonathan instantly frowned "...Mario said no, and Alfred asked who his father was, and then just left.

"That's all he said?"

"He said something like, a pity you're the only one who doesn't know, or some shit." Steve added before Claire could speak, so she nodded to confirm.

Jonathan didn't say anything, but Milena nodded, oblivious to her brothers sudden attitude change.

Mario came into the room then, and began bugging Claire for his surprise.

"What?" Milena asked.

"Claire said if I came back here she would give me something!"

"Yes, sweetie, here you go." She smiled, pulling the colorful bag from Steves backpack. It was a variety bag, with chocolate, suckers, and other things.

He stared at it, like it was alien, but then he caught on.

"Candy!" He ran off with the bag, laughing and skipping.

"Emilia used to sneak him sweets when she found them, but never a whole bag. I don't know if she would love you or scold you for that." Milena joked.

"She would love her for it. Her son deserves to be spoiled." Jonathan added absently, and then left after the younger boy.

"Is he okay?" Steve asked after he was out of range.

"He and Emilia were close, I think he still gets upset when he hears about her, especially since Alfred insulted her." She shrugged "We were both close with her, friends since we were kids."

* * *

They left shortly after, Claire shoved some water into the bag, and the virus vial into the pocket of her pants. They watched the double doors of the palace open, and then the Ashford twins stepped out, heading towards the dining hall. Yolanda and Anthony followed suit, and Cindy right behind them. They could only hope no personnel in the building would question them entering the secretary office.

"We have the key, they wont bother us." Steve whispered, sensing her anxiety as she ascended the stairs.

She nodded, and opened the door to their right. As soon as they stepped in front of the gilded door, her demeanor changed. She took the broom that they had carried up to look as if they were cleaning, and snapped the handle off, wielding it as a weapon.

"At this point, we need to just get out of here, no matter what tries to stop us. If they catch us with this virus stuff, we will be killed, and the others will be stuck. So, don't be afraid to retaliate, okay?"

His mouth felt dry, but he nodded in sudden understanding. This was going to be more dangerous than any other time. He quickly looked around for a weapon, but nothing seemed usable, so he just waited for Claire to use the objects. Once set into the divots, they stayed put, and the door clicked. She turned the knob, finding it open.

"Okay, take the broom head and the cleaning fluid, we don't want them getting any clues that we came through here." She ordered, taking the ants out of the plaque.

She placed them all in his pack, and they set through the door. On the other side, there was another office, much grander than the previous. In front of a large window sat a computer, locked. A quick look through the papers and she found a passcode. She logged in and went to her email, and promptly sent a message to Chris. She didn't know if he would get it, but if he did they were guaranteed this place would be overrun with soldiers looking for them. She smiled, and cleared all traces of her using the computer. Steve leaned against a large music box, watching her grin grow.

"I was able to contact Chris, knowing him he'll send an army if he gets it."

"Let's hope." He tried to sound cool, but he couldn't help but feel relieved. They just needed to get to the coast now-

She gasped, Steve had put too much weight and the music box tipped back. He jumped forward before it could crash to the ground, but he noticed too. There was no wall behind it.

"Push it." Claire said, rushing over to help him move it.

It was heavy, but with their combined effort they managed to push it out of the way, revealing a large, but short hallway. They pulled the box back over the hole, and continued out the door at the end, leading to a small wooden bridge. Through the windows of the bridge they could see the rain had picked up to a steady downpour, and the wind threatened to blow out the torches that lit their way.

"The private residence..." Steve breathed.

"I guess the only way we can go is up..." Claire trailed off, looking up the stone steps to see a mansion in the distance, a huge black shadow masked by rain and fog.

She readied her weapon, but he insisted on going first, and led them up the path to the infamous Ashford mansion.

 _'This is the place dad was working on.'_ He remembered.

They reached the courtyard, adorned with stone cherubs and gargoyles, and fountains. Looking around, it was easy to tell that the place had been recently renovated, cracks filled, stairs repaired, and replaced. Despite the garden, the place was eerie. Claire didn't take time to look around, as she was already ascending the second set of steps that led to the front doors. Instead of protesting, he rushed to her side, and together, they opened the doors.

Inside, the place wasn't nearly as large at they had thought, just tall. Downstairs consisted of a large common room, filled with bookshelves, dolls,and candles. A dining room was to the left, and a kitchen to the right, but they looked relativity unused. She grabbed a journal from a table and flipped through it, seeing it was notes that seemed to be written by Alfred himself. She shoved it into the pack, she could read it later. They debated going upstairs, but Claire decided against it.

"It will only take time to explore the place, we should just keep going...this place gives me the creeps."

The dolls were old, broken, and dusty. Everything was either burgundy velvet or dark wood, everything shadowed despite the abundance of candles and torches all around. Above their heads, he saw a foot. Following it up, he saw a doll, suspended from the ceiling three floors up. Its dress was tattered, and dusty. Claire shook her head at the sight, and hurried forward to the kitchen. Steve shivered.

 _'Dolls are so damn creepy.'_

The lights in the kitchen didn't work, so Claire used her zippo for light, and Steve's eyes caught the door at the far left.

"Claire," he pointed to it, and they both moved over.

"Perfect."

It led to a back porch. A few chairs and a swing sat on the concrete floor, which was suspended over a ledge. There were no stairs to lead anywhere, but one of the sides had ground they could walk on, so they jumped down from the ledge. Claire hesitated, but Steve caught her as she landed, knocking them both over. She apologized, but from the angle, she could see something partially hidden by bushes, almost like a cellar in the side of the jagged peaks.

"Come on." She said, helping him up and heading for it.

She opened the doors,covered in rock and greenery, and found steps covered with leaves and mud leading down into darkness. She couldn't use her lighter due to the rain, so she stepped down.

"Some kind of passage?" She wondered aloud, staring down.

Steve covered his nose, gagging "It smells awful."

"Let's go, we need to give it a try."

Definitely the last thing he wanted to do, but they didn't have much time. He let her go first, since she had her lighter to illuminate the concrete passageway. He shut the doors behind them, and she snapped it open, washing them in warm light. They descended the stairs until it turned into a hall. It seemed to drag on forever, and Claire began periodically closing her lighter to prevent it from overheating.

"I can feel a draft, there has to be an opening somewhere." She said, feeling her way down the tunnel.

They came to a pit, and with the limited range of the lighter, they could make out a ledge on the other side, the bars of a ladder reflecting the flame.

"What do you think is down there?" He asked.

"I can see ground. It must be there in case the place floods. Come on."

There was a box that contained a ladder for this side. She pressed a button to release it, and put her lighter away, descending into the pit with Steve close behind.

He was feeling anxious, that they would get stuck down there, or get caught, but nothing compared to the way his heart leapt to his throat as there was a crash, and Claire cried out.

He rushed forward towards the noise, and felt blindly, though he couldn't see. He felt something, like a smooth rock under his hands, or maybe a tree branch?

"Claire? Are you okay?"

She groaned in response, flicking open the zippo. He was relieved to see she had just tripped, but then, his eyes drifted to what she had tripped on.

A skeleton, with torn cloths and even what looked like left over tissues. She didn't seem to notice until she saw where he was looking. She yelped, jumping away from the body.

"What the hell?" She cursed, leaning back on her hands to stare. Steve now got a look to see he had met the same fate.

He pulled his hands away, wiping them on the ground, but he didn't jump back. Something gold caught his eye.

 _'This is...'_

He tried to tug the golden chain from around the neck, but the bones cracked under the slight pressure, crumbling and allowing him to take the jewelry.

"Steve, now isn't the time. Don't rob these people." Claire scolded, standing up and brushing the dirt from her jeans.

He didn't reply, eyes fixed on the piece in his hands. On the back of the pendant were two dates, 3/5/78, and 2/16/81.

His parents anniversary, and his birthday.

"Steve?"

His hands shook, and his gaze drifted just beyond the body, to find the one next to it had a matching pendant, which he carefully grabbed.

She could see something was wrong, so she walked over, and knelt beside the boy.

"What did you find?" She asked, then noticed the shaking hands.

He still ignored her.

"Steve...please talk to me." She placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to sound soothing.

He closed his fist around the gold, noticing something written on the wall in a brown chalk, most likely sandstone.*

 _"They've left us down here, me, Maria, and the others hired to work on the Ashfords mansion._

 _Why I, or any of us were picked for this project, I don't know. We must have been disposable._

 _They threw us down here after reconstruction and repairs were finished, the workers and_

 _their families. They said no one could know about the place. I don't know why, or what that_

 _means, but they're hiding something. Some of us, they shot and killed before throwing them into_

 _the pit, others, like us were left to starve, if the fall didn't kill us._

 _Steve, I know that you didn't run away, I know something is wrong. I tried to question it, but_

 _it would only enrage and annoy Alfred. I didn't abandon you, I looked the entire time I was on the surface._

 _I checked, I snuck around but I never found you. I'm so sorry, me and your mother miss you so much._

 _We would never leave you behind, we can only hope that you're okay and alive somewhere._

 _We love you."_

His parents signatures were written at the bottom, along with the date. 5/23/96.

 _'Two years. Three. I thought they had just abandoned me...'_

She read it too, and she felt her heart break for the teen before her.

"Oh, Steve..." She whispered, now understanding everything, his current, and past attitudes. She thought of her boundaries, but when his shoulders shook, she said to hell with it, and wrapped an arm around him from behind. When he didn't object, she wrapped both, and then he broke, sobbing in her embrace.

* * *

 ***The writing on the wall is in relation to the message found from Steves dad in the training facility in the Darkside Chronicles. :D**

 **This took awhile to write, I had a hard time making things run smoothly. I hope you enjoyed, please review, or send constructive criticism!**

 **Frozenheart7: Thank you! I have plans for him :)) And yeah poor Claire, taking all the hits D: Steve needs to step up, haha!**

 **SAKURA-REVENGE: I agree. I love playing/when others play off his shyness. Thank you so much! I'm happy to hear that!**

 **Guest: Thank you!**

 **A Meta Nephilim: A Lemon between them wouldn't really fit the story, but if someone else wants to write it in general or in the context of the story, they're welcome to! It's just not something I can do, sorry. :(**

 **Until next time!**

 **Unedited 7/5/15**


	9. Chapter 9

**Resident Evil and it's characters belong to Capcom.**

* * *

They sat in the dark, as her lighter was getting way too hot to keep open. Steve had shifted and was laying against her chest now, his body no longer shaking.

"We should get going." His voice was hoarse, but she couldn't protest, as much as she wanted to sit and let him be held. They would be searching for them soon.

"Right..."

They helped each other stand, and they proceeded to the other side. Claire tried not to look down, to avoid the many bodies that littered the ground.

"Oh shit-"

"What?" Asked Claire, turning around to see Steve staring at a set of bodies.

"Oh..."

The two were side by side, holding hands. It appeared that they had shot themselves together.

"What a way to go out." Claire commented sadly, avoiding the scene.

"How did they get a gun though? Wouldn't they have just shot whoever put them here?" Steve wondered aloud, eyeing the weapon. It glinted in the light as she opened her zippo, glowing softly.

"I'm sure they tried, but were probably outgunned. All these people...they didn't stand a chance."

"It still has a few bullets left..." He noted, after prying it from the mans hands and checking the clip.

"A gold Luger? That's an interesting weapon. May I see it?" Claire asked, holding out her hand.

"Ashford is engraved in the barrel, they must have stolen it," She moved it around, getting a feel for the weight "...this must be real gold, it's heavy."

"Maybe someone took pity on them, and dropped the gun in the pit for 'em." Steve wondered aloud.

"It's real gold, no one would leave this behind., would they?"

He shrugged.

"We should get going, we need to move before it gets too dark and we can't see. I won't be able to use my lighter out there."

"You're right." He gave one last look to the pair, and took the weapon from her.

"Hey!"

"C'mon Claire, let me use it. I got your back. You hold the lighter, I'll cover us." He smiled.

"And you know how to use that?" She raised a brow, fighting the urge to roll her eyes and snap at him.

"Well...yeah! Let's go." He was a lot more energetic now that he was armed. She didn't know if that was good, or bad. They climbed the ladder on the other side, and after about 15 minutes of walking, they came to another set of stairs, and a door. Steve went first, and Claire flipped the lighter closed. They could hear the rain from outside pattering against the wood as he opened it a bit.

"I don't see anyone, I don't recognize this part of the island, either. I think we're on the other side of the mountain."

"Then no one should be over here, let's move out." They climbed out of the musty hall, hair matting to their heads as it poured, "It should be about 30 minutes until we hit the shore."

They proceeded through the thick underbrush, making good time. Steve pushed a branch out of his face, and it whipped into Claire's.

"Ow! Prick." She growled.

"Shhh..." He held up his finger, listening intently.

"Get behind me!" He ordered, jumping in front of her and aiming the gun.

The bushes rustled, and then a figure walked calmly out of them.

"M-mario? What are you doing all the way out here?"

"I saw you guys leaving, so I followed you. Where are you going?"

"Ahh, shit, shit, shit." Steve cursed, this was the worst timing for the kiddo to show up.

"Mario, it isn't safe to be out here." Claire told him, pulling him closer to you.

"Where were you guys going?" He asked innocently.

"We were going to get help, to get everyone out of here. You weren't supposed to come, it's-"

"It's what?" She heard the sound of a rifle being cocked, and spun around.

"Alfred!" Steve raised the Luger and let off a shot. It hit his shoulder, causing him to jerk back and reflexively let off one of his own.

Steve cried out, as the round embedded itself into his abdomen. He tried to shoot again but his gun jammed.

"Steve! Are you okay?" Claire fretted, trying to support him as he grit his teeth.

"I'm fine."

"You...bastard..." Alfred swore, removing his hand from his shoulder, finding it coated with blood.

Claire looked around, "Well Alfred? Where is your army?"

"Hah! I don't need soldiers to take care of some rats like you." He sneered.

He didn't give her a chance to retaliate, he was sick and tired of this trio. "Did you really think I wouldn't find the e-mail you sent on _my_ computer? That you could sneak off a heavily surveillanced island and hit the shore as soon as your brothers unauthorized aircraft lands? I admit, you stayed under the radar longer than anyone before you, but your luck runs out now. Die!"

"No!"

"Jonathan!" Claire and Steve yelled together as the man burst from the tree's. He tackled Alfred to the ground, knocking the rifle from his grip.

He punched him in the face, blood spurting from his nose with the second impact. He clenched something in his fist, black straps sticking out from the side.

"Bastard" He growled, already covered in blood, but...it wasn't Alfred's?

He dropped the item onto Alfred's chest, a choker with a large ruby in the middle.

The aristocrat stuttered, "W-where did you get that? Where is my Alexia?!"

"That bitch killed my Emilia! You both tortured us for years...You have no idea how long I've waited to do this..." His eyes were dark, as he pulled a dagger from his belt, holding it high above his head. He didn't lower it, but he looked at the trio.

"Take my son and get out of here! I'll follow later!"

 _'His son?'_

Steve nodded, grabbing Claire's hand, "Get him, for my parents, and for Emilia." He spoke coldy, hand almost painfully tight on hers.

She was taken aback by the venom in his voice, but she understood it, allowing him to lead her and Mario through the woods.

Once they disappeared into the tree's, the Hispanic man returned his attention to the man writhing beneath him. Alfred had freed one arm, and hit Jonathan in the temple with a stone, knocking him off. He scrambled for his rifle, covered in mud, and the blood of his sister.

"I will not let you get away with what you did!" The Ashford shouted, letting off a round at a recovering Jonathan. The shot his the mud at his feet, and the sound was drowned out by the thunder.

"I think that's my line." He called over the roar of the rain, raising the dagger as Alfred lined up another shot.

He missed again, the bullet chipping the bark of a tree behind him. He took the second to lunge, plunging the knife into the blondes throat. As the crimson liquid poured out, the last shot sounded. He felt the heat in his abdomen as the round ripped through him. The pain was immense, but he smiled, still pressing the blade into his neck.

"I win." He choked out, tasting copper on his tongue.

Alfred's body collapsed beneath him, taking him down as well. He rolled off the still-warm body into the mud. The rain washed away the blood flowing from his stomach, and the filth from his body. He continued to smile, even as he coughed, and his wounds throbbed. Everyone was free, his friends, his son. Emilia, was avenged, he was coming for her.

* * *

 _'I missed you...I..._

 _I found your notes while snooping, after I heard the comment that damned Ashford made about you._

 _About the man who you didn't love, but took the title of father, when you thought I wouldn't want our son, because of that other woman, or because I was young,_

 _I'm sorry I made you feel you couldn't tell me._

 _No wonder you let me take care of him so much._

 _No wonder he looked so much like me._

 _No wonder I loved him, as much as I love you._

 _I'm sorry._

 _I can only hope this makes up for it.'_

* * *

The gunshot rang throughout the woods, and the commotion behind them died. She let out a shaky breath.

"Steve, don't give out on me now, we're almost there!" Claire pleaded.

Mario was also having a hard time keeping up, his long hair matted to his forehead and getting into his eyes.

 _'My legs aren't cooperating...'_ Steve's head was swimming, he could hardly hear Claire as she pleaded for him to move.

The wound hadn't hurt so much before, but he was loosing blood too fast. His legs felt like jello, evident when he collapsed to his knees.

"Steve! No, not now, we're almost there!" The tree's were becoming thinner, just a few more minutes and they'd be safe.

"Claire...I can't..."

"The hell you can't!" she ripped off her shirt, leaving her in only her bra, and lifted his.

 _'He needs all the warmth he can get.'_ she thought as she fought her embarrassment.

The wound was jagged, and bleeding heavily still. She crushed some herbs from his herb case and applied the poultice to the wound.

"Mario, please come here. I need you to apply pressure, yes right there." She began wrapping her shirt, which was ripped into strips around his waist. It only took a few seconds before the blood was soaking through the first layers.

"Hey...Claire, I'm not going to make it...so I wanted to tell you-"

"Don't talk like that Steve, you're gonna make it." She assured.

He didn't answer.

"Steve? Steve talk to me." Her voice was desperate as his eyelids were fluttering. She let out a string of curse words, and put his arm over her shoulder. She stood, supporting all of his weight and pushed forward at a slow pace.

"Is Steve going to be o-okay?" Mario spoke through chattering teeth. The rain had lightened up now, making it easier to see. They were almost there, she could see the jagged rocks on the small beach just in the distance. She had since transferred Steve to her back, since his legs completely stopped working.

"I sure hope so." She whispered just loud enough for him to hear. Steve had lost consciousness a few minutes ago, but she could still feel his faint breathing against her back.

By the time they reached the shore, she collapsed to her knee's. She couldn't support his weight anymore. All they could do was hide. She laid the pale boy onto the sand, like he was a fragile doll. He still had a pulse, but from the looks of it he didn't have much time.

"Chris...Chris where are you?" She blinked away the tears as she caught Mario's eyes. He seemed on the verge of tears, as she called him over.

He sat beside her, and she hugged him close, "Don't cry...we will be okay. I...I promise."

She fought the urge to nod off, holding Steve's Luger and watching over the boys. She didn't keep track of how long they had been out here, but no one had come across them yet.

 _'Just hold on Steve, I'll get you out of here, I promise. This damn island won't take anyone else, wont take you from me.'_ She placed a hand on his chest, looking solemnly onto him.

"It's been a wild few days hasn't it, Steve? I guess few years for you. I can't wait to take you out, get a good meal..."

 _'Where will he go? Will he stay with me?'_

"You're welcome to stay with me and Chris...if you want...I'd enjoy the company."

Steve was still holding on, only because of the herbs, she guessed...

Wait...

He wasn't breathing.

"Steve...?" She called out quietly.

No response, so she called again.

"Steve." More firmly.

Mario stirred at her side, then fell back as she darted forward recklessly.

"Steve! No, Steve wake up, please!" She shook him, starting to sob over his form. Mario came up beside her, watching her cry over his friend.

He felt the tears well up in his own, hiding his face as he sniffled.

"You were supposed to escape with me, we we're going to do this together..."

"Steve..." He cried.

He placed a hand on his chest, then froze. He heard something.

It was faint, particularly hard to hear over the brunettes loud crying.

"Claire...I heard something."

She sniffled, blinking before coming to her senses, faintly picking up the gun and guarding the redheads body.

"No Claire, listen."

She raised a brow, but did as he said. Soon, she heard the sound he was talking about.

"A helicopter!" It was growing louder rapidly, and as she looked over the crashing waves she saw the lights.

She ran towards the water, waves lapping over her boots as she attempted to wave it down. She could see the American logo on the side, and backed up as it landed.

"Claire!" Leon yelled from the open door, dropping to the ground before Chris could land the chopper.

"Leon! Chris!" Chris exited, Rebecca not far behind.

They embraced, as Mario stayed back beside Steve's body.

"Claire, who's that?" Chris asked, looking at the body behind her in the sand.

She choked, holding back a sob and refusing to look that way.

"M-my friend...he...he got shot." She broke, shaking in her brothers arms after a moment.

"Why didn't I just let him say what he wanted to say? Why did he have to take the bullet?" She rambled into his chest as Chris rubbed her back. Leon just looked on sadly, keeping an eye on the child. Rebecca rushed over to the body.

"He wasn't supposed to die Chris...I can't...Chris I...I..."

 _'I love him...'_

"Don't worry. We can bring him with us, we wont leave him at this...this place."

She nodded, that was the least they could do. He didn't deserve to be there any longer-

"Claire...Claire go into the chopper and get my medkits, he isn't dead!"

She froze in his grip, "What?"

"Hurry! He doesn't have much time!" She shouted over the waves.

That was all Claire needed to retrieve the kits and make it to her in a matter of seconds. She removed Claire's makeshift bandage and used a combination of first aid sprays and herbs after cleaning it.

"You guys, we need to get on the helicopter before the soldiers are attracted, we need to hurry." Claire informed as Rebecca continued working.

They nodded, the boys loading Steve into the back as Claire lifted in Mario.

"Is he going to be okay?" Claire asked Rebecca as Chris took off, watching as Rockfort became smaller and smaller.

"I'm...fine." He coughed, attempting to sit up. Rebecca placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back down.

"He won't be if he moves like that. You need to stay still until we can get you to the hospital, I bought you some time but you're not in the clear yet." She was stern, but gentle. Steve thanked her before turning to a...shirtless Claire?

He blushed, "What happened to your..."

"I had to bandage you with something." She replied, closing the blanket around her shoulders tighter.

He saw Mario was fast asleep to his left, "Jonathan didn't make it? Where is Alfred?"

"I think they took each other out...no one followed." She responded quietly, looking down.

 _'Jonathan...'_

"I'm glad...you made it. I was really worried."

"That's an understatement." Rebecca joked, winking at Claire.

"Oh, come on. I wasn't going out that easy." He smiled as she gripped his hand tightly, "You better not."

"So, can I take you up on that offer?"

"Hm?"

"That nice hot meal, a bed with you...?" He tried to sound smooth, but ended up blushing a bit at his own forwardness.

"Of course Steve." She replied, ignoring Chris' grunt of objectiveness.

Rebecca left to chat with Leon in the copilot seat, while Steve made Claire lean in.

"What you said earlier...did you mean it?"

"What are you referring to?" She asked.

"When you said you...you loved me?"

 _'Did...did I say that out loud?'_ it was her turn to blush madly, but she nodded.

He swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat, "I'm sorry about that-" She tried to say.

"I love you too, Claire." He whispered, and she froze.

She turned and stared into his sea-green eyes, and saw nothing but honest affection. She smiled brightly, squeezing his hand.

"Chris is going to have a lot to get used to."

* * *

 **Well, short, sorry about the wait! This is the end, I had a lot of fun writing this, thanks for all the reviews and support!**  
 **There will be an Epilogue, so stay tuned for that!**

 **PagingNancyDrew and Frozenheart7: Thank you for the reviews, I didn't expect the note to be liked that much!**

 **Until next time!**

 **Unedited 7/23/15**


	10. Epilogue Part 1

**Resident Evil and it's characters belong to Capcom.**

* * *

"So, how ya' feeling?" Claire inquired, patting his leg as he sat beside her.

"I've been better," He winced as he leaned forward "...but your friend Rebecca did a good job." he smiled, russet hair being whipped around his face by the wind.

"Yeah, she's talented..." she trailed off, eyes drifting to the island that had come into sight. She let out a shaky breath, mentally preparing herself for their imminent landing.

It had only been a few days since they had escaped Rockfort. When they had explained what happened, there was a call for immediate investigation and evacuation of any prisoners. The S.T.A.R.S members had been appointed the mission, which was convenient. They were required to arrest or terminate any remaining hostiles, and bring back the servants.

She could only hope the others were fine since they left.

"We're going to be landing soon. Steve, Claire, you guys are going to stay here." Chris began giving out orders, as everyone in the chopper began suiting up.

"What? But you need someone to show you where to go. Besides, they know me. Let me go with you." Claire wasn't really asking, as she pulled a shotgun off a rack and slung it over her shoulder.

"No, it's too dangerous. Besides, someone needs to watch Mario and Steve." he pointed out without glancing her way.

She sucked a breath, thinking about what he said. It made sense, as much as she wanted to say Steve could take care of himself, she couldn't leave it to him while he was injured if she didn't have to.

"I'm fine, you need to let me come too." Steve interjected, reaching for the same rack Claire had retrieved her weapon from.

"No Steve, you're hurt-"

"They need me Claire, why don't you stay and watch Mario?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, pushing his hand away from the weapons rack, "You're staying here, and that's final. You won't bring any attention to yourself, and no heroics. I will not lose you again." She ordered as firmly as she could manage before turning to Chris, "And I'm going with you, whether you like it or not."

She saw Jill giggle a bit as Chris groaned, knowing it was no use to argue with the younger Redfield.

"Fine, Brad, you should stay back and keep an eye on them and the helicopter." Vickers didn't object, only nodded as he brought the chopper in for landing on the beach.

Bravo teams helicopter landed shortly after, and they regrouped, minus Steve, Brad and Mario, who sulked in the hard seats of the chopper.

"Should we split?" Enrico asked Chris, but the marksman shook his head as Claire spoke up.

"It's easy to get lost here. I have a pretty good idea of where to go from here, and we should stick together. It should only take a half hour if we hurry, they wont expect anyone coming inland."

"Then, we're following you, Miss." Enrico nodded, smiling as he saluted her.

Steve watched as the large group moved deftly into the tree line.

 _'They look so...professional. Like a movie or something.'_

He sighed, fighting the urge to pout as he listened to Brad flip magazine pages, and Mario shift and fidget. He felt the kids pain, he too wanted to go, and help everyone out. Sizing up the piolot, he figured if he really wanted to run out that it wouldn't be much of a problem to knock the skinny kid down and make a run for it. He could stay and watch Mario, that was one thing they had been right about. Injured or not, at least he could handle a gun. He decided wasn't about to let her go alone. With Mario distracted by a magazine Brad had handed back, he leapt down into the sand, a machine gun in hand.

"Hey, where are you going? They told you to stay here!" Brad jumped out of the chopper but didn't pursue, waving his hands as the redhead disappeared into the treeline.

"Steve?" Mario called, short legs kicking up sand as he attempted to chase after him.

"Oh no, you don't." Brad heaved the child up, taking him back to the chopper. He stumbled as he kicked and writhed, eventually biting the pilots arm so he would be dropped. Brad sighed, rubbing his arm as the sound of the kid rustling leaves slowly disipated. He shook his head, returning to his seat and rubbing his temples.

Steve moved quickly, staying far enough back that he wouldn't make any noise. They were still too close to shore, with his luck they would send him back with an escort.

"Why aren't we walking with them?" a loud voice asked from behind him, making him jump and reflexively point his weapon as he spun around.

"Mario?" Steve hissed, "Because Claire would kill me if she knew we were out here, especially you. How did you get out here?"

"The guy told me to follow you."

Cocking an eyebrow, he shrugged. He couldn't just tell the kid to run back, might as well bring him along. He shifted the rifle to his other shoulder, finding the weight uncomfortable.

 _'Yeah, she's going to kill me.'_ He repeated as his wound twinged.

* * *

"I don't hear anything yet..." Jill spoke aloud, sweeping the area with her Beretta.

"I recognize this area, this is where Alfred shot Steve..." _And killed Jonathan..._

There were no bodies, and any blood must have washed away in the constant rains. Her eyes caught something gleam in the groups flashlights, and she bent down to pick it up.

 _'Jon's dagger...?'_ she examined it before taking it.

 _'Mario will probably want this, one day...'_ she thought sadly, sliding it into the empty holster at her side.

"The bodies are gone..." She continued, facing her brother.

He tried to ignore the worried look on her face, directing the group forward. "Come on Claire, let's get going. They must have some loyalty to the headman if they took the body. We should be careful, they wont take kindly to see you again.."

She nodded, _that's an understatement._

She grimaced at the sucking sounds the mud made as they moved across the small clearing, and struggled to see past the heavy blankets of rain as they fell. Far off, she could see the lights of the prison, but they were still at least twenty minutes away. Joseph was grumbling about the weather the entire way, until they finally reached the prison, lights cutting through the thick fogs ominously. They traveled along the wall until they reached the edge, eyes occasionally flickering to the orange light glowing from within, the telltale hue of fire. The entire perimeter was stone, and the sheds and housing quarters were closed in with barbed wire topped fences, and the servants quarters was at the far end. No one seemed to be around, so Joseph and Forest began cutting the wires in the fence to make an opening large enough for them to enter.

"Okay, Alpha, were going to check near the prison. We have permission to shoot on site if presumed hostile. Bravo, you go with Claire. She'll show you where the cabin is. Hopefully they're in there. Tend to the wounded and don't engage unless necessary. You don't want attention brought to yourself while transporting the survivors," he paused for effect "...Everyone clear?" Chris ordered as the men pulled the fence apart, making an entry way.

As Enrico entered the fence, everyone suddenly spun on their heels, weapons pointed at the greenery that rustled behind them.

"Hey, relax, it's just me!" Steve sputtered, as Mario ducked behind the teen's legs.

"Steve? What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the chopper with Brad." Chris scolded, but Steve was busy watching Claire, who was obviously noticing his discomfort no matter how well he thought he had been hiding it.

"You guys need my help. I got your back." He grinned, holding up the machine gun he stole from Alpha's helicopter.

"And why is Mario here?" Claire glared, face softening as the child ran towards her.

"I followed Steve."

"Oh, did Steve run off without you?" She asked innocently, while staring her friend down.

Mario nodded, going on about how Brad called after him and how funny it was. A few of the S.T.A.R.S members giggled to themselves, imagining the scene as the child described it happily, before Chris ordered Steve to go with Claire and Bravo.

"Do NOT bring any attention to yourselves, avoid contact at all costs, your job is to rescue the prisoners. We will rendezvous here when you have everyone, Enrico, you have your walkie?"

"Yup."

"Contact me when you've secured the subjects. Good luck." He nodded to Claire especially.

Steve rolled his eyes but nodded, while Claire forced him to stay in the middle as she lead Bravo team in the direction of the cabins. She noticed the faint silhouettes of soldiers in the watch towers, and she signaled for everyone to get down. They ducked back, staying in the shadows of the connecting walls with weapons ready. They looked to Claire rather than Enrico, and she swallowed a small lump that had formed in her throat. It wasn't so much the responsibility that made her nervous, but what she may find when she reached the cabin. What if something happened to them-

"They don't shine the watch lights this way, but they used to patrol. If they're keeping the rest still, someone will be keeping watch." Steve concluded, interrupting her internal worries.

"If you come across anyone, subdue them quietly. I don't know how many soldiers are left behind but I don't think we will stand a chance if we alert them all." Claire whispered harshly, and Bravo team nodded.

Mario was clinging to her leg now, looking up with curious eyes, "Steve, I need you to take care of Mario. You're injured, so no action unless you have to, okay?"

He was about to protest but he realized the desperation in her voice and nodded. She nudged the young boy his way, and she split the team up. Kenneth, Forest, Edward, and Enrico flanked around the far side, scouting the back of the area, while Claire, Steve, Rebecca, and Richard went straight, weaving in and out of buildings, and walls. They were about halfway there before they finally encountered someone, a duo casually strolled through a break in the wall, passing the group as they flattened themselves against a wall.  
Richard was the closest, chest heaving when he caught a glimpse of the heavy weaponry they carried in their arms. Steve was on the other wall with Claire. Richard and Rebecca exchanged a nod, and quietly lunged for the soldiers, pulling them back into the shadows of the walls. Rebecca injected the one with a serum to knock him out, but before she could call out to the redheaded boy, he had his arm wrapped tightly around the other guards throat, angling his position to break the mans neck.

Claire looked away just before, pulling Mario to her chest to shield his eyes and ears, cringing at the sickening crack that filled the air.

"We didn't have to kill him." Rebecca whispered harshly after she opened her eyes, turning towards them as she took her hands away from her ears.

He took a deep breath as he laid the body down, maybe she was right, he thought as Claire and Mario pulled away from each other, avoiding the corpse. Maybe he was being cruel-

"It was too risky, Steve did what he had to." Claire defended, now moving over to check the body "It's them or us at this point...but, if we can avoid it, let's." She finished with a look at Steve, hoping he understood.

He nodded, grateful for her defense, "How are we supposed to arrest these guys anyways?" Steve followed up, still feeling the guilt, watching as Claire recovered a key ring and some ammunition.

"There's far more still holed up here than we anticipated...I suppose Alpha team will handle that. Our job is to recover the prisoners." Richard answered, stepping over the body, eager to be on his way.

"The cabins are close, see that white building up there?" Claire pointed towards the higher cliffs.

"That's the palace. They're near there." Steve finished, already moving.

Richard took the dead body and dragged in into the shadows, holding up the rear as everyone advanced with much more caution. They froze, pressing themselves flat against the wall they were following when a bell chimed, somewhere in the direction of the prison.

"Did they spot us?" Enrico breathed, clutching his still holstered pistol.

"No...I don't think so. They ring the bell to summon all workers to the prison yards. Someone must be giving some kind of announcement." Steve explained quietly, peeking over the wall to see black-clad bodies thronging around the main entrance. His eyes strained, as he could've sworn he saw Milena and Nicolas among the men.

"Workers? So the servants too?" Claire asked

"Yeah. Everyone is required to go. I wonder what its for...maybe funerals?"

"I figured Umbrella would handle that." Enrico had visibly calmed, peaking over the wall as the last of them entered

"Look." Rebecca whispered as a group of sickly looking people were herded away from their target.

Four men surrounded them, machine guns in hand as the pushed them along roughly.

"It's them!" Steve breathed.

"I don't see Yolanda, or Juan, or Kate..." Claire let out a shaky breath, taking look around before darting across the remaining distance towards the sleeping quarters.

"Claire, wait!" Richard tried to grab her jacket but she was already gone, Steve and Mario close behind. Rebecca followed, leaving him, Edward, and Enrico to keep an eye out.

"They're being reckless." Richard growled.

"Just watch for them, and lets go." Enrico ordered, moving much slower in pursuit.

"Damn, the doors locked." Steve cursed, slamming his fists on the wood. He had passed Claire despite his injuries, and hit the place first. She hissed, scolding him for being loud as Rebecca kept an eye out.

Thankfully, everyone seemed to be gone.

"Here, let me see what I can do. Jill taught me a little somethin'". Rebecca pushed between them, kneeling before the padlock and pulling out two small tools.

She finished with the door in no time, and as soon as she backed away Steve kicked the door open.

In the cots, a few lay, coughing or visibly beaten, bleeding. Yolanda could be heard gasping from the floor, sprawled out and bleeding heavily from an unseen wound.

"Are you alrigh-" Claire attempted to jump to the old woman's aid, only to be cut off and thrown to the ground.

"Don't you touch her!" A girls voice screeched as she pummeled Claire's back with pathetic punches.

"Kate, stop! Its Claire! Its Steve and Claire!" Steve pleaded, prying her gaunt frame from the crouched Redfield.

Kate struggled for a second before coming to a realization. When she went limp, he carefully dropped her. He tried to level his breathing, the effort of the earlier running and grabbing her had aggravated his wound. He fought the urge to clutch his stomach as she gasped in disbelief.

"You...you're back? Mario?" She asked before her eyes narrowed. "Where the hell did you guys go?"

"It's a long story," Kates eyes shifted over Bravo team in awe "...but we brought help, we're gonna get everyone out of here."

"Well you better get to it! They took everyone to the prison, and Alfred is not happy." She snapped, offering to lead them as she darted out the door.

* * *

 **I didn't originally intend for this to be a two-parter, but yeah, here it is. I honestly had such a different idea for the 'epilogue', as it was just going to be a "and the island was evacuated and they lived happily ever after" but...oops. I don't know when the last part will be up, but I'll try not to take too long! I got in over my head with all the stories I've uploaded and all the ideas I've had.**

 **For those of you interested in my story Valkyja, that will probably be uploaded before the second part of this is out, just an FYI. c:**

 **InuSBfan: Thank you very much c: I appreciate all the support you've given me along the way! (And haha, it isn't a Claire/Steve story without a little bit of overprotective Chris. cx)**

 **FrozenHeart: Thanks! And I'm glad you like them, and thank you for reading :D & haha Wesker is so cruel.c:**

 **PagingNancyDrew: I'm sorry, as glad I am that I got a reaction out of everyone lmao c:**

 **Thanks everyone for reading!**

 **Until Next Time!**

 **Unedited 8/26/15**


	11. Epilogue Part 2

**Resident Evil and it's characters belong to Capcom.**

* * *

Alpha team waited until Claire, Steve, and the rest of Bravo shifted out of sight. There was no sound of conflict, so Chris waved his hand, signaling for the others to follow along the back wall of the facility. The amount of ground they were able to move on was getting increasingly smaller as they moved along, the river churning far below the cliff face.

"How do you plan to get us inside?" Joseph whispered, fidgeting with his bandanna.

"There's a back entrance, farther down the wall. Claire told me about it - it's hardly used from what she knows, that's where we're going to enter." Chris explained, stopping and waiting for everyone to catch up. They rounded a corner which led to a lot larger ground and a bridge. They hurried onto stable ground, thankful to not be overlooking the valley anymore.

"How many do you think we're dealing with?" she asked.

"Can't be too many. They would have spotted us by now, there must only be a few left." They stayed silent as they moved against the wall, avoiding any eyes from the watch towers above.

"Captain..." Barry muttered, pointing towards their left. Two figures could be seen moving lazily about, wielding large guns as they chatted.

"They're heading towards Bravo." Jill spoke, a hint of distress in her voice.

"Claire..." Chris whispered, his brows furrowing in worry as he moved forward, as if to warn them. Jill grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back into the cover of the wall.

"Bravo is with her, they'll be able to handle it. We can't go drawing attention to ourselves, or we'll blow it." She swallowed the lump of concern in her throat, putting on a reassuring look for the Redfield.

It seemed to work, as he assumed his place at the front of the group, leading them to the gates. They had been right, as soon the pair was no longer visible in the distance. They had been lucky enough not to encounter any patrols themselves - something reassuring. Maybe they could get the remaining innocents without conflict...?

"Jill, wait!" Chris whispered harshly, pulling her back as she drew closer to the gate. The heavy footfalls of soldiers could be heard inside, among the chorus of voices on the other side of the wall.

"What's going on in there?" Barry muttered, ducking down.

"It sounds like they...celebrating?" Chris cocked his head to the side like a puppy as joyous shouts sounded from inside. The orange light of fire could be seen shining off the towers in the dark.

"Maybe they didn't like these Ashford's either...they didn't sound very pleasant." Jill concluded. If that was the case, this would be quite easy for them, but they couldn't charge in until they were sure.

"Isn't there another way in?" Barry asked, but was subsequently shushed as the sound of footsteps sounded on their side of the wall.

"Get down!" Chris hissed as the a group of people came into view. They ducked behind a stack of supply crates, observing the armed men as they escorted people roughly towards them. They were dressed well, though looked sick and gaunt underneath the dress shirts and aprons. These must have been the people Claire and Steve had been talking about.

"If they aren't hostile, why are they treating them like that?" Joeseph wondered aloud, sticking his head above the boxes to get a better look.

Barry tugged him back, "I don't think they're misunderstood, Joe. We're gonna have to wait and see what they're doing." He scolded in a whisper. This was not the time for mistakes and stupidity. A lot of peoples lives were potentially at stake, including their own.

Just in front of them, a door on either side of the gate opened, 3 soldiers in total exiting and meeting with the two escorts. They exchanged friendly words before they all pushed them inside, pulling the gates mostly closed behind them. Inside, they could see the fire pit, a few men, and a large truck just before if was closed from view. Alpha breathed a sigh of relief before standing straight again.

"Look, theyve left the tower open. Should we go up there?"

"I say we split up. There isn't many but it could still be dangerous. We're gonna head in near the supply truck, and Barry and Joeseph will go into the watch tower. Lock the door behind you, we're gonna make our move soon. Since they've taken the prisoners here, that means Bravo will be on their way. We'll figure out what exactly to do then."

They nodded, looking around the corner before rushing up, locking the door behind them as they were instructed. Chris and Jill exchanged looks before approaching the open double doors. Everyone was facing away from them, to their advantage, and the watch towers were empty. They raced behind the large cargo truck, sneaking into the back which was covered with tarp.

The soldiers that had brought the servants were still guarding them, guns pointed at them as they sat around the firepit that had been constructed in the corner. They all looked absolutely terrified on top of severely unhealthy. Some of the younger ones were crying, holding onto each other though most of their hands were bound. The rest of the soldiers gossiped about, nothing interesting, as it seemed they were waiting for someone. What they were worried about was the cross set up in the giant pit...what was that for?

An image flashed in Jills head, these soldiers burning these innocent people one by one...no, she wouldn't let it happen. At that point they would all have to act, no matter what. A hush settled over the crowd, signaling that someone was approaching. The doors near the fire opened, and a small group of men entered, led by one dressed regally in red, a scowl on his face. Behind him, two men carried something resembling a body bag - no - it was a body bag. Jill silently gasped, but held herself back.

"Greetings, my rats! I'm sure you're wondering why I've brought you here, aren't you? Or do you already know?" The man sneered into the circle.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. You have your friends to blame for this. You should have reminded them what happens to those who run off. But since they aren't here, I have to take my anger out on someone else. Let's start with this one, shall we? It's too bad the man is already dead, I would have liked to repay him better for killing my dear Alexia, and even wounding me." his voice didn't break, remaining cool and coy as he talked to himself. "...Yes, you succeeded in freeing your friends, but at what cost? Save three, kill ten? Very valiant." He rambled before turning serious, staring at them

"You all, observe. Those who show the least fear may be saved til last, as I do love breaking resolve." He had switched back and fourth between talking to the body bag, the crowd, and those tied up.

"Is that Alfred? Claire said he died." Forest whispered, staying in the shadows as he observed the developments.

"Obviously not. I wonder what's taking Bravo so long? We need them here now."

"Jonathan? Jonathan...! No, no, no, don't you touch him!" A woman cried, struggling against her restraints as the body was lifted onto the stake, secured with chains in a t-pose. She screamed, throat already raw from lack of hydration and constant crying as Alfred smiled at her, eyes flashing with the flames that came to life at the base of the stake.

Everyone had began to protest and cry, while the soldiers cheered them on. Jill forced herself to look away as the cross was pushed back over the fire, the flames beginning to engulf the body.

"These people are insane..." Chris muttered with wide eyes, pulling Jill into his chest as the smell of burning flesh hit his nose.

"This is what happens to those who oppose me...!" The Ashford growled loudly over the prisoners cries and the soldiers cheers.

* * *

"They're heading towards the prison, come on!" Kate cried with a sudden burst of adrenaline, coupled with her hyperactivness she quickly overtook them.

"Wait, let us go first!" Claire gave chase, moving up beside her and Enrico as they raced over the connecting bridge.

"They've already gone inside."

"How is Alfred alive?" Claire asked in jagged breaths, the anxiety in her chest bubbling over as they closed in on the prison.

"I don't know, but he's pissed. He's gonna kill them all!" The girl fretted.

"Not if I can help it." Steve growled, moving fast despite his injuries. They could hear the shouting from inside, particularly Milena's which only made him stumble faster across the empty grounds, passing Rebecca, Mario and caught up to Claire.

 _'Did she say Jonathan?!'_

Claire noticed the recognition on his face and exchanged a glance with him. As they approached the doors, everyone inside could be heard yelling and crying among cheering.

"How do we go inside?"

"How many do you think are in there?" Enrico asked, turning towards Claire and Steve as he practically blocked the entrance. The screams inside suddenly intensified and with that, Steve shot forward and managed to shove Enrico out of the way.

"Steve no! You don't know what's going on!"

"I don't care!" he growled, throwing his weight against the door to push them open.

"Goddamnit kid, you're gonna get us all killed!" Enrico and Richard both cursed, pulling out their guns and running after him.

"Wait!" Claire cursed, stopping herself from running to grab Kate and Mario "...I need you two to stay back here, keep him safe, okay? Go hide." she ordered as she slung the shotgun around, nodding to them before running off. They stared at the adults in amazement as they rushed after Steve, fully equipped with no hesitation.

"Brave." Kate breathed as she knelt down beside Mario and held him tight to keep him from running after them. She looked around, before running back to hide near the dumpsters.

"This is what happens to those who oppose me!"

As she entered the main prison yard, she saw that everyone was at a standoff. All weapons were raised, and everyone was quiet as Alfred leaned close to the fire, holding the tear-stained face of Milena over a bed of flames. To her left she could see Chris standing outside of a truck, and Jill frozen in place from halfway under the tarp.

"Let her go!" Steve ordered over the silence that had fallen over the courtyard, aside from the occasional whimpers of Alfred's prisoners. His breathing was ragged as he fought the urge to yet again clutch the wound on his stomach, hardly having any balance as he pointed the gun at Alfred who was seemingly unnerved.

He stared them down before a smile crept upon his face. He pulled Milena back a bit, but didn't release her as he ordered the soldiers not to shoot.

"You don't shoot, and she doesn't burn, fair enough?" They didn't respond, but let their weapons fall slightly as Alfred yanked her hair back in to drive his point. Milena blinked at them, too scared to vocalize as more tears streamed down her face - they had brought help. They were going to be okay, right?

"Let her go." Steve repeated, more contained this time as Claire slowly came up beside him.

"Put your weapons down." Alfred ordered with a quick note of seriousness, which caused the island soldiers to close in on them in an attempt to intimidate. Slowly they lowered their weapons to the ground, hands up. Chris had begun to size them up - there were ten in all, not counting the bastard in red. They were about even. If it wasn't for the hostages they could probably take them easily.

"So tell me, why have you returned to my island? To rescue these things?" He kicked some dust at them, sneering at Claire and Steve in particular "...you should have stayed away, then you might have survived the night."

"What do you want with them? Why don't you just let them go." Claire attempted to get closer, only to have a gun shoved in her face and Steve pull her back.

"Well that would be no fun, would it? What a waste of a good game it would be, not to mention all the _lies_ they would try to tell the authorities. Please, woman, don't ask me stupid questions. Time is not on your side here."

"I don't know about lies, but Claire gave them solid evidence of the testing Umbrella has been doing, including the virus and it's connection to your island. No matter what you do tonight, you're finished." Steve snapped, catching the blonde's attention.

"W-what? Why you..." his eye twitched and his grip on Milena's hair tightened dramatically, her face twisting in a silent scream as she tried to claw at his hand. He cursed, throwing her down to the ground and pulled out a pistol of his own. He pointed it at the back of her head as she hit the ground, narrowly missing the flames that had grown to cover her brothers body. Alfred glared at them darkly, suddenly very serious as it dawned on him.

"It matters not," he raised the gun away from Milena and pointed it at Claire "...Whatever happens tonight, I will be sure that none of you make it off this island again!"

A shot rang out as Alfred dropped the pistols, holding his shoulder as it darkened with blood. He stared wide eyed at Steve, who stood with his luger that he had concealed, with Claire behind him already reaching for her shotgun. The entire yard erupted in gunfire, people running in all directions. Anthony, one of the prisoners, jumped up and ran over to the rest of the them, attempting to usher them out of the side door as the S.T.A.R.S members all reached for their guns.

As Anthony passed passed Claire she told him where Mario and Kate were, and to wait for them there before ducking behind a dumpster.

 _'This is not good this is not good this is not good.'_ She repeated in her hair as a soldier fell in front of the dumpster, blood splattering across the green paint. She followed the trajectory of the bullet and saw Barry and Joeseph covering them from the watch tower. Just below that, Richard, Jill, Chris and Enrico took cover behind a supply truck. Forest and Rebecca had left with the prisoners to provide protection.

She peeked around the side of the dumpster, seeing three soldiers downed already and Alfred with Milena's hair in his fist again. He was taking off, dragging her behind him as he exited through the left door. She remembered something Steve had said - a secret jet near the palace.

 _'He's trying to get away!'_

Steve seemed to realize the same thing as he jumped and bolted after him, Claire in pursuit. They ducked as the gunfire was centered on them, bullets clattering against metal as the slammed the heavy green door shut behind them. Steve was having a hard time keeping up, and she had to stop herself from telling him to stay back. He would never do that, and this was much more his fight than hers, though she could see the blood beginning to seep into the bandages the more they moved around.

She swallowed hard, forcing herself to focus on the retreating form in front of her, _'I have to let him do this.'_

They almost lost him between the closed off areas and various buildings, but they eventually circled to the cathedral, which was next to the facility.

"Quick, we can cut him off at the entrance!" Claire panted, putting the last bit of her energy into a sprint, but came to a halt as an alarm began to blare over the speakers of the various island facilities.

"The self destruct system has been activated, all personnel evacuate immediately." It chanted, over and over again. They exchanged a panicked look before Alfred appeared, Milena still in tow.

He raised the gun to her head, surprised to see the duo standing before him. "Don't hurt her, Alfred!" Steve snapped, frozen in place as the aristocrat glowered.

"This is all your fault! You did this to her, to all of them! This is what rats get for disobeying." he attempted to shove past them, but the duo just backed up further.

"You aren't getting away, one way or another, you're going to pay for your crimes." Claire growled as Alfred sighed in mock annoyance.

"You don't scare me. I believe it's in your best interest to move out of the way."

"Not a chance, Alfred." Steve growled.

"Have it your way then." He sidestepped the two as a gunshot sounded from behind them.

Claire wasn't quick enough as the hot led embedded itself in her thigh, taking her down to the ground with an agonized groan. Steve recovered from his lunge and scooped her up, carrying her behind some supply crates and sitting her down. She removed her own jacket to stop the bleeding, smiling gratefully at Steve who reloaded his Luger. He crouched behind on of the crates, cursing as Alfred ran away. He sprung up, lining up a shot with the soldier who had apparently followed them all this way. One, two, three bullets pierced through his abdomen and chest, quickly dispatching him as Alfred disappeared behind the door.

"Claire, you stay here, I'm going to go end this once and for all." He set his jaw in determination, already leaving when the girl grabbed his hand.

"The self destruct system has been activated. All personnel evacuate immediately."

"Let me come with you."

"You're injured, You stay behind, I got this." And he was gone, already catching up to the Ashford as Claire called after him. As he entered, a tank was approaching. He jumped out of the way, rolling to the other end as it stopped just before hitting the wall. Just behind it, a platform raised to meet him, and he sank into the ground with Milena before Steve could reach the two. He cursed loudly, approaching the hole where they disappeared.

 _'I can't just wait for it to come back up.'_ he swallowed and braced himself, jumping in.

As he hit the ground below, his ankles locked up causing him to stumble and cry out. Alfred didn't even look back as he ran through double doors at the end of the hall - the hangar. Ignoring the pain in his ankles he sprinted after them, raising his luger at the Ashford's back.

"Hold it!" the man froze just before the ladder.

"Let go of her, you know I'll shoot you before you shoot her. This is over, no more games Alfred."

"And what do you plan to do with me then? Arrest me?" he mocked laughter, jolting the woman at his side.

"I plan to kill you." Steve growled.

Alfred was silent for a second, "Is that so?" he turned his head to Milena, "...I wont be the only one you kill tonight." He shoved the gun in her face, but before he could pull the trigger she shoved his hand upwards, tackling him to the ground, "Steve, get him!" she cried.

He blinked away his shock and charged as the woman grappled with him, but it was clear he wouldn't make it in time. Alfred had the gun raised under her abdomen as she pinned him. He raised his Luger, still running, "Milena, move!" he screamed as the gunshots rang simultaneously.

It seemed to happen in slow motion as he came to a halt - brain matter splattering across the cement, and blood seeping through the green cloth of her dress. She stayed poised for a moment, before rolling off his body and becoming still. Alfred's eyes slowly closed as Steve fell beside Milena, holding her head in his hand with tears welling up in his eyes.

"The self destruct system has been activated. All personnel evacuate immediately."

"Milena, why?" He chocked. Why hadn't he been faster, why didn't he just shoot him when he had the chance-?

"Because you wouldn't have shot him otherwise, I know you. You act tough but you wouldn't...risk me for something like that, k-kiddo." she smiled weakly, something he hadn't seen on the older woman's face in a long time.

"But you shouldn't have risked yourself, who would take care of Mario? You're the only family he's got." He applied pressure to the wound, making her wince.

"What do you mean?"

"You're an aunt..."

Her eyes widened, dull with pain, but also love. "You know," she coughed, a bit of blood appearing at the corner of her mouth "I think I always knew he was Jonathans..." she trailed off, her head falling back as she exhaled.

"Milena? No! Come on!" he shook her gently, hugging the motherly woman tightly. Behind him, the doors opened to reveal Claire, using a metal pole to support herself, "What happened?" she asked as she noticed Milena in his lap.

He tried to swallow the tears, but they kept flowing as the worst entered his head - she was gone and it was all his fault. He'd gotten her killed, he-

"Pick her up carefully, this place is going to blow any second. We can still save her, but we need to be quick."

He blinked, hope flaring in his chest as he lifted her in his arms carefully and followed Claire towards the exit.

"Where are the others?" He asked, beginning to jog in pace with Claire's limp. She motioned to her radio.

"They were able to take out the guys at the prison, and are on their way to the helicopter."

"Five minutes until detonation." the monotone voice reported, spiking fear in them both.

"This guy is totally fucking insane!" Steve cursed, picking up the pace. He could feel the blood beginning to leak from the bandage on his abdomen, and Claire was lagging behind a lot. The thick forestation wasn't helping either as facilities behind them began exploding, fires catching everywhere.

They raced down the stairs and past the bridge that led to the prison, seeing that Kate and Mario were gone. They continued down the path, following it down into the woods.

"We're not gonna make it in time." Steve cursed, almost tripping over the branches and logs on the ground as the voice trailed off behind them.

"Don't say that, we'll be there soon." she reassured over the sound of wind and leaves whipping at their face. They continued to run, adrenaline pushing away the pain and allowing them to move as quickly as possible. Their time was almost out as the tree's thinned. They crashed through the bushes at the last second, the helicopters already ready to take off without them.

From in the distance, they heard the countdown hit zero, any standing building bursting, fires climbing high over the tree's. Claire lifted Milena from Steve's arms, allowing him to leap into the copter as Brad was taking off, veering quickly as they had to hold on to avoid falling out of the aircraft. Behind them, the place was totally decimated, nothing left standing as it became smaller and smaller.

On Alpha teams helicopter was Brad, Rebecca, Claire, Steve, and the prisoners that had been injured during the rescue. Kate and Mario had led them back to the cabin to retrieve Yolanda, Camille and Jakob, who had already been patched up, leaving time to tend to Claire and Milena. Mario was by Milena's side, sleeping as Rebecca bandaged her abdomen - the wound had been far to the side, seemingly missing anything vital thankfully. She had woken up, playing with a piece of Mario's hair as she rested, the chopper comfortably silent as they continued towards South America.

Claire had taken it upon herself to redress Steve's wounds, the teen leaning back against the wall with a stone face on. She shook her head, laughing to herself as he attempted to act overly masculine, puffing out his chest as she wrapped it. She had seen how he cried over the frail woman, making her realize just how much he cared for her, and the others for that matter.

The way he had barged in...she smiled. He certainly didn't lack courage. She settled in place beside him, surprising him as she pressed her shoulder against his, resting her head. His eyes shot towards her in confusion, and he blushed as he realized what was happening. He looked out the sides of the helicopter, scratching his head as he attempted to act indifferent.

He caught Milena's eye, a playful glint in her eyes and a teasing smile on her lips which only made him flush hotter.

She laughed silently, the scene sweet. The boy had certainly adopted a few of Jonathan's traits in the short time they had been around each other. He and Emilia had acted in the same way, all the time.

 _'It's too bad he didn't get the chance to be a father...I think it would have really made him happy.'_ she sighed, still not understanding Emilia's motives completely.

 _'At least they're together now...'_ with one last look and Steve and Claire, she allowed herself to drift back into sleep, subconsciously bringing Mario closer to her as she did.

"What do we tell headquarters?" Jill asked, referencing the destruction of the island.

"All we can do is tell them what happened, thanks to Claire we already have evidence of what went on, just no one to convict. The rest of Umbrella will be handled accordingly." Chris answered from the co-pilots seat, leaning against the window pane.

"You think they'll make it easy?"

"No...not at all." He sighed as her hand found his shoulder, her body leaning against the back of the seat.

* * *

 **And that's it. I wasn't really sure how to end it, or how to write this entire chapter. I'm not overly happy with it, but what can you do?**

 **Thanks for all the support and reviews! I really appreciate them and am glad you guys enjoyed!**

 **Until next time!**

 **Unedited 11/6/15**


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